/o .-n .  ^c^ 


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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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Division .-iBd.s-/'^     I    | 

.It  I 


Section 


A 


co^yl 


gntgrnational  Crtttcal  Commentary 

on  t^e  m\}}  Mtiptntt^  of  tl)e  O^lti  anti 

UNDER   THE   EDITORSHIP  OF 

THE  REV.  CHARLES  AUGUSTUS  BRIGGS,  D.D.,  D.LlTT. 

Edward  Robinson  Professor  of  Biblical  Theology, 
Union  Tlieological  Seminary,  New  York ; 

THE  REV.  SAMUEL  ROLLES   DRIVER.  D.D.,  D.LlTT. 

Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew,  Oxford ; 

THE  Rev.  ALFRED   PLUMMER,  D.D. 

Master  of  University  College,  Dztrliam. 


^t  Intonafional  Critical  Cgmmtutarg 

on  tl)e  i^olt?  Sctiptuvcs  of  tlje  (S)lb  anb 
Kcro  Qitsiamtnis, 


EDITORS'    PREFACE. 


There  are  now  before  the  public  many  Commentaries, 
written  by  British  and  American  divines,  of  a  popular  or 
homiletical  character.  T/ie  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools, 
the  Handbooks  for  Bible  Classes  atul  Private  Students,  The 
Speaker's  Commentary,  The  Popular  Commentary  (Schaff), 
The  Expositor  s  Bible,  and  other  similar  series,  have  their 
special  place  and  importance.  But  they  do  not  enter  into 
the  field  of  Critical  Biblical  scholarship  occupied  by  such 
series  of  Commentaries  as  the  Kurzgefasstes  exegetisches 
Handbuch  zum  A.  T.;  De  Wette's  Kurzgefasstes  exegetisches 
Handbiich  zum  N.  T.;  Meyer's  Kritisch-exegetischer  Kom- 
mentar;  Keil  and  Delitzsch's  Biblischer  Cominentar  iiher  das 
A.  T.;  Lange's  Theologisch-homilctisckes  Bibelwerk ;  Nowack's 
Handkommenfar  zum  A.  T. ;  Holtzmann's  Handkomvientar 
zum  N.  T.  Several  of  these  have  been  translated,  edited, 
and  in  some  cases  enlarged  and  adapted,  for  the  English- 
speaking  public ;  others  are  in  process  of  translation.  But 
no  corresponding  series  by  British  or  American  divines 
has  hitherto  been  produced.  The  way  has  been  prepared 
by  special  Commentaries  by  Cheyne,  Ellicott,  Kalisch, 
Lightfoot,  Perowne,  Westcott,  and  others ;  and  the  time  has 
come,  in  the  judgment  of  the  projectors  of  this  enterprise, 
when  it  is  practicable  to  combine  British  and  American 
scholars    in    the    production   of   a    critical,    comprehensive 


EDITORS     PREFACE 

Commentary  that  will  be  abreast  of  modern  biblical  scholar- 
ship, and  in  a  measure  lead  its  van. 

Messrs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons  of  New  York,  and  Messrs. 
T.  &  T.  Clark  of  Edinburgh,  propose  to  publish  such  a 
series  of  Commentaries  on  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
under  the  editorship  of  Prof.  C.  A.  Briggs,  D.D.,  in  America, 
and  of  Prof.  S.  R.  Driver,  D.D,,  for  the  Old  Testament,  and 
the  Rev.  Alfred  Plummer,  D.D.,  for  the  New  Testament, 
in  Great  Britain. 

The  Commentaries  will  be  international  and  inter-con- 
fessional, and  will  be  free  from  polemical  and  ecclesiastical 
bias.  They  will  be  based  upon  a  thorough  critical  study  of 
the  original  texts  of  the  Bible,  and  upon  critical  methods  of 
interpretation.  They  are  designed  chiefly  for  students  and 
clergymen,  and  will  be  written  in  a  compact  style.  Each 
book  will  be  preceded  by  an  Introduction,  stating  the  results 
of  criticism  upon  it,  and  discussing  impartially  the  questions 
still  remaining  open.  The  details  of  criticism  will  appear 
in  their  proper  place  in  the  body  of  the  Commentary.  Each 
section  of  the  Text  will  be  introduced  with  a  paraphrase, 
or  summary  of  contents.  Technical  details  of  textual  and 
philological  criticism  will,  as  a  rule,  be  kept  distinct  from 
matter  of  a  more  general  character ;  and  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment the  exegetical  notes  will  be  arranged,  as  far  as 
possible,  so  as  to  be  serviceable  to  students  not  acquainted 
with  Hebrew.  The  History  of  Interpretation  of  the  Books 
will  be  dealt  with,  when  necessary,  in  the  Introductions, 
with  critical  notices  of  the  most  important  literature  of 
the  subject.  Historical  and  Archaeological  questions,  as 
well  as  questions  of  Biblical  Theology,  are  included  in  the 
plan  of  the  Commentaries,  but  not  Practical  or  Homiletical 
Exegesis.     The  Volumes  will  constitute  a  uniform  series 


THE  INTERNATIONAL   CRITICAL   COMMENTARY. 


The  following  eminent  Scholars  are  engaged  upon  the  Volumes 
named  below  : — 

THE    OLD    TESTAMENT. 

Genesis.  The  Rev.  T.  K.  Cheyne,  D.D.,  Oriel  Professor  of  the 

Interpretation  of  Holy  Scripture,  University  of  Ox- 
ford. 

Exodus.  The  Rev.   A.    R.   S.    Kennedy,    D.D,,   Professor   of 

Hebrew,  University  of  Edinburgh. 

Leviticus.  J.  F.  Stenning,   M.A.,   Fellow  of  Wadham  College, 

Oxford. 

Numbers.  G.    Buchanan   Gray,    D.D.,    Professor   of   Hebrew, 

Mansfield  College,  Oxford.  {^N'ow  Ready. 

Deuteronomy.  The  Rev.  S.   R.  Driver,  D.D. ,  D.Litt.,   Regius  Pro- 

fessor of  Hebrew,  Oxford.  \^No%v  Ready. 

Joshua.  The  Rev.  George  Adam  Smith,   D.D.,  LL.D.,  Pro- 

fessor of  Hebrew,  Free  Church  College,  Glasgow. 

Judges.  The  Rev.  George  Moore,  D.D.,  Professor  of  The- 

ology, Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

\_Nozv  Ready. 

Samuel.  The  Rev.   PI.   P.  Smith,  D.D.,   Professor  of  Biblical 

History,  Amherst  College,  Mass.  \_Now  Ready. 

Kings.  The  Rev.  Francis  Brown,  D.D.,  D.Litt.,  LL.D.,  Pro- 

fessor of  Hebrew  and  Cognate  Languages,  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  New  Vork  City. 

Chronicles.  The  Rev.  Edward  L.  Curtis,  D.D.,  Professor  of  He- 

brew, Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

Ezra  and  The  Rev.  L.  \V.  Batten,  Ph,  D.,  sometime  Professor 

Nehemiah,         of    Hebrew,   P.    E.   Divinity    School,    Philadelphia, 
now  Rector  of  St.  Mark's  Church,  New  York  City. 

Esther.  The    Rev.    L.    B.    Paton,   Ph.D.,    Professor   of    He- 

brew, Hartford  Theological  Seminary,  Hartford, 
Conn. 

Psalms.  The  Rev.  Charles  A.  Briggs,  D.D.,  D.Litt.,  Edward 

Robinson  Professor  of  Biblical  Theology,  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  New  York. 

Proverbs.  The  Rev.  C.  H.  Toy,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  He- 

brew, Plarvard  University,  Cambridge,  Massachu- 
setts. {^Nnv  Readv. 

Job.  The  Rev.  S.   R.  Driver,  D.D.,  D.Litt.,  Regius  Pro- 

fessor of  Hebrew,  Oxford. 

Isaiah,  Ch.  1-39.    The  Rev.  S.  R.  Driver,  D.D.,   D  Litt.,   Regius  Pro- 
fessor of  Hebrew,  Oxford. 

Isaiah,  Ch.  The  late  Rev.  A.  B.  Davidson,  D.D.,   LL.D.,  some 

40-66.         time    Professor  of   Hebrew,    Free  Church   College, 
Edinburgh. 

Jeremiah.  The    Rev.    A.   F.   Kirkpatrick,   D.D.,    Regius   Pro- 

fessor of  Hebrew,  Cambridge,  England. 

Daniel.  The  Rev.  John  P.   Peters,  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  sometime 

Professor  of  Hebrew,  P.  E.  Divinity  School,  Phila- 
delphia, now  Rector  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  New 
York  City. 

Amos  and  W.  R.  Harper,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  President  of  the  Uni- 

Hosea.  versity  of  Chicago,  Illinois  [/«  the  Press. 

Micah  to  W.  R.  Harper,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  President  of  the  Uni- 

Malachi.  versity  of  Chicago,  Illinois. 


THE  INTERNATIOML  CRITICAL  COMMENTARY— Continued. 


St,  Matthew. 
St.  Mark. 

St.  Luke. 

Harmony  of 
the  Gospels. 

Acts. 

Romans. 

Corinthians. 

Galatians. 

Ephesians 
and  Colossians. 

Philippians 
and  Philemon. 

Thessalonians. 

The  Pastoral 

Epistles. 
Hebrews. 

St.  James. 

Peter  and  Jude. 


The  Epistles 
of  John. 

Revelation, 


THE    NEW   TESTAMENT. 

The  Rev.  Willoughby  C.  Allen,  M.A.,  Fellow  of 
Exeter  College,  Oxford. 

The  late  Rev.  E.  P.  Gould,  D.D.  ,  sometime  Professor 
of  New  Testament  Literature,  P.  E.  Divinity  School, 
Philadelphia.  [A'ow  J^eady. 

The  Rev.  Alfred  Plummer,  D.D.,  sometime  Master 
of  University  College,  Durham.  \_N^(nii  Ready. 

The  Rev.  William  Sai^day,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Lady  Mar- 
garet Professor  of  Divinity,  Oxford,  and  the  Rev. 
Willoughby  C.  Allen,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  Exeter 
College,  Oxford. 

The  Rev.  Frederick  H.  Chase,  D.D.,  Fellow  of 
Christ's  College  and  Vice  Chancellor,  Cambridge, 
Eng. 

The  Rev.  William  Sanday,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Lady  Mar- 
garet Professor  of  Divinity  and  Canon  of  Christ 
Church,  Oxford,  and  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Headlam,  M.A.  , 
Fellow  of  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford.      \_N<rcV  Ready. 

The  Right  Rev.  Arch.  RobertsoN;  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Lord  Bishop  of  Exeter. 

The  Rev.  Ernest  D.  Burton,  D.D.,  Professor  of 
New  Testament  Literature,  University  of  Chicago. 

The  Rev  T.  K.  Abbott,  B.D.,  D.Litt.,  sometime  Pro- 
fessor of  Biblical  Greek,  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
now  Librarian  of  the  same.  [A'ow  Ready. 

The  Rev.  Marvin  R.  Vincent,  D.D.,  Professor  of 
Biblical  Literature,  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
New  York  City.  [yVcni*  Ready. 

The  Rev.  James  Everett  Frame,  M.A.,  Asst.  Pro- 
fessor in  the  New  Testament  Department,  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  New  York. 

The  Rev.  Walter  Lock,  D.D.,  Warden  of  Keble 
College,  and  Professor  of  Exegesis,  Oxford. 

The  Rev.  A.  Nairne,  M.A.,  Professor  of  Hebrew  in 
King's  College,  London. 

The  Rev  James  H.  Ropes,  B.D.,  Bussey  Professor 
of  New  Testament  Criticism  In  Harvard  Univ>ersity. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Bigg.  D.D.,  Regius  Professor  of 
Ecclesiastical  History  and  Canon  of  Christ  Church, 
Oxford.  [A'i'Ziy  Ready. 

The  Rev.  S.  D.  F.  Salmond,  D.D.,  Principal  and 
Professor  of  Systematic  "Theology,  Free  Church  Col- 
lege, Aberdeen. 

The  Rev.  Robert  H.  Charles,  D.D.,  Professor  of 
Biblical  Greek  in  the  University  of  Dublin. 


Other  engagements  zvill  lie  announced  shortly. 


NUMBERS 

GEORGE  BUCHANAN  GRAY,  M.A.,  D.D. 


SKETCH  MAP  OF  PALESTINE 

lauSTMTING  COMMENTABY  ON  NUMBERS 


The    International'  Critical   Commentary 
A 

CRITICAL  AND   EXEGETICAL 
COMMENTARY 

ox 

NUMBERS 


BT 


GEORGE   BUCHANAN    GRAY,   M.A.,   D.D. 

PBOFESSOR   OF    HF.BKEVV   AND   OLD   TESTAMENT   EXEGESIS 
IN    MANSFIELD   COLLEGE,    OXFORD 


NEW    YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

1903 


Tka  Rights  of  Translation  and  of  Reproduction  are  Reser-jed. 


PREFACE. 


It  is  five-and-thirty  years  since  the  English  translation  of 
Keil's  Commentary  on  Numbers,  which  had  been  published 
in  Germany  five  years  before,  appeared.  Neither  the 
Speaker  s  Commentary,  nor  any  other  English  Commentary 
on  the  book  published  since,  possesses  any  independent 
value.  Keil's  interpretation  started  from  a  standpoint 
which  was  at  the  time  professedly,  and  recognised  to  be, 
conservative,  and  which  the  advance  of  scholarship  in  the 
interval  has  increasingly  shown  to  be  untenable.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  say  more  to  indicate  the  need  for  a  new 
English  Commentary. 

In  Germany  a  second  edition  of  Keil's  work  appeared 
in  1870,  Dillmann's  Commentary  in  1886,  and  Strack's  in 
1 894.  To  Dillmann  the  present  writer  is  greatly  indebted. 
But  even  since  1886  standpoints  have  changed,  and  know- 
ledge on  many  special  points  has  increased.  It  is  the  aim 
of  the  present  Commentary  to  enable  the  reader  to  look 
at  and  interpret  the  Book  of  Numbers  from  these  new 
standpoints  in  the  light  of  the  new,  as  well  as  of  the  old, 
knowledge. 

Two  new  German  Commentaries  are  announced  as 
likely  to  appear  shortly :  *  these,  of  course,  have  not  been 
available  for  use  in  the  preparation  of  the  present  volume, 

*  One  in  Nowack's  Ha?idkomvientar  zuni  AT,  by  Baentsch  ;  the  other 
in  Marti's  Ktirzcr  Hand-Comvieritar  zum  AT,  by  Holzing'er. 


vili  PREFACE 

A  few  monographs  on  certain  sections  of  the  book  have 
recently  appeared,  and  Paterson's  critical  edition  of  the  text 
was  published  in  1900;  but  in  the  main  the  new  material 
for  the  interpretation  of  the  book  has  had  to  be  sought  in 
more  general  works  on  Lexicography,  Textual  and  Literary 
Criticism,  Archeology,  and  Anthropology.  Inscriptions 
and  Monumental  Evidence  have  cast  less  direct  light  on 
Numbers  than  on  many  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament. 
On  the  other  hand,  several  sections  of  the  book,  when 
viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  modern  anthropological 
study,  especially  as  represented  in  the  works  of  Tylor 
and  Frazer,  gain  greatly  in  intelligibility. 

Many  of  the  works  to  which  the  writer  has  been  mainly 
indebted  will  be  found  in  the  List  of  Abbreviations  (p.  xvi) ; 
others,  in  the  literature  given  at  the  beginning  of  several 
sections  of  the  Commentary  and  in  the  footnotes.  Special 
reference  maybe  made  here  to  the  volume  on  Deuteronomy 
in  the  present  series.  In  some  parts  the  Books  of  Numbers 
and  Deuteronomy  are  parallel ;  where  this  is  the  case,  it  has 
frequently  seemed  best  to  explain  matters,  which  had  been 
already  fully  discussed  in  the  Commentary  on  Deuteronomy, 
briefly  and  with  a  reference  to  that  work.  Numbers  is  also 
closely  related  to  Exodus  and  Leviticus ;  but  the  commen- 
taries on  these  books  have  not  yet  appeared  ;  certain  matters 
not  alluded  to  in  Numbers  should  obviously  find  their  full 
explanation  in  those  works :  in  other  cases  it  has  been  more 
difficult  to  decide  where  the  fuller  discussion  should  most 
naturally  be  given  or  sought ;  but  I  hope  that  I  have  been 
able  to  avoid  both  leaving  too  much  to  my  fellow-contributors 
to  this  series,  and  unduly  anticipating  them  in  what  it  is  for 
them  to  interpret. 

In  the  transliteration  of  Proper  Names  I  have  followed 
in  the  main  the  practice  of  the  editor  of  the  scries  in  his 
Commentary  on  Deuteronomy.     But  in  the  last  eight  years 


PREFACE  ix 

those  who  are  likely  to  use  this  work  have  been  becoming 
increasingly  accustomed  to  the  form  Yahzveh  :  I  have  there- 
fore adopted  it  in  preference  to  the  non-form  Jehovah,  for  it 
cannot  come  far  short  of  representing  the  original  pronun- 
ciation. The  ^  I  have  transliterated  by  s,  since  z,  when 
comparison  has  to  be  made  with  the  Arabic,  is  misleading  ; 
this  necessitates  substituting  Selophehad,  Soan,  etc.,  for  the 
familiar  Zelophehad,  Zoan,  etc.  Cross  references  under  Z 
in  the  Index  (in  the  case  of  words  beginning  with  this  letter) 
will,  I  hope,  diminish  any  difficulty  which  this  may  occasion 
to  some  readers.  The  quantities  of  vowels  I  have  in  many 
cases  not  marked  at  every  occurrence  of  the  word,  but  only 
on  the  first  occurrence,  or  where,  for  the  sake  of  comparison, 
it  was  important. 

The  map,  it  is  hoped,  will  prove  a  convenience  in  a 
volume  which  necessarily  contains  a  number  of  geograph- 
ical notes  and  discussions,  and  refers  to  places  which  cannot 
be  found  in  any  single  existing  and  easily  accessible  map. 
To  avoid  the  unfortunate  confusion  produced  by  the 
common  practice  of  attaching  Old  Testament  names  to 
sites  even  when  the  identifications  are  at  best  very  un- 
certain,* the  ancient  names  have  only  been  inserted  when 
the  identifications  are  free  from  all  reasonable  doubt;  in 
other  cases  modern  names,  distinguished  from  the  ancient 
by  difference  of  type,  have  been  used.  Without  over- 
crowding it  would  have  been  impossible  to  include  all  the 
sites  (especially  those  East  of  Jordan)  to  which  reference 
is  made  in  the  Commentary,  but  none  that  are  essential 
to  the  understanding  of  the  more  important  notes  have 
been  intentionally  omitted. 

I  need  not  repeat  or  epitomise  here  what  I  have  said  in 
the  Introduction  on  the  religious  value  of  Numbers.     But 

*  This  fault  is  very  conspicuous  in  the  otherwise  convenient  map  of 
Palestine  in  Murray's  Handy  Classical  Maps,  edited  by  G.  B.  Grundy. 


X  PREFACE 

one  thing  I  may  add  :  Numbers  is  but  part  of  a  whole  ;  and 
the  value  of  the  part  can  only  be  adequately  judged  when 
its  connection  with  the  whole  is  borne  in  mind.  Still  more 
true  is  this  of  individual  sections  of  the  book ;  in  some  of 
these  we  come  across  crude,  or  primitive,  or  very  imperfect, 
religious  ideas  and  sentiments ;  I  have  felt  it  my  duty,  no 
less  in  the  interests  of  religion  than  of  scholarship  (and  in 
so  far  as  the  goal  of  both  is  truth,  their  interests  are  the 
same),  to  indicate  as  fully  and  as  faithfully  as  I  could  the 
crudeness  and  imperfections  of  these  ideas  as  well  as  the 
finer  and  higher  ideas  that  find  their  expression  in  other 
parts  of  the  book.  For  the  highest  that  the  religion  of 
Israel  attained  to  can  only  be  fully  appreciated  in  the  light 
of  the  lowest  which  it  touched,  sometimes  wholly,  sometimes 
partially,  to  transform  and  ennoble. 

My  last  word  must  be  one  of  the  warmest  gratitude  for 
the  unwearying  attention  with  which  Dr.  Driver  has  read 
my  book  as  it  has  been  passing  through  the  press,  and  for 
the  numerous  suggestions  with  which  he  has  favoured  me. 
It  has  not  been  always  possible  to  utilise  these  suggestions 
as  fully  as  I  could  have  wished  ;  to  have  done  so  would  have 
involved  overmuch  rearrangement  of  the  printed  sheets ;  but 
even  as  it  is,  the  work  has  been  enriched  in  many  places  as 
a  result  of  this  help,  which  can  only  be  duly  appreciated  by 
those  who  have  received  or  given  similar  service.  I  must 
also  thank  the  editors  of  the  Encyclopczdia  Biblica  for  the 
favour  of  allowing  me  to  see  advance  sheets  of  many  articles 
in  that  work,  including  some  in  the  forthcoming  and  con- 
cluding fourth  volume. 

G.  BUCHANAN  GRAY. 

Oxford,  Jamiary  1903. 


CONTENTS. 


FAKV? 

Addenda  and  Corrigenda         ,           ,           , 

: 

xni 

Principal  Abbreviations  employed 

XV 

Introduction         ..... 

xxi 

§  I.          Title 

xxi 

§  2.            Scene  and  Period        . 

,            xxii 

§  3,  4.       Connection  with  preceding  and  follow 

ng  Books 

Scope           .            «            .            , 

,           xxiii 

§  5.            Table  of  Contents      . 

xxvi 

§  6-13.      Sources            .... 

xxix 

§  14-          Text 

xxxix 

§  15,  16.  The  historical  Value  of  Numbers 

xlii 

§  17.          Numbers  and  the  Religion  of  Israel 

xlvii 

Commentary           ..... 

I 

Some  longer  or  detached  Notes — 

The  Antiquity  of  P's  Lists  of  Names   .             . 

6,  7,  13s,  136 

The  Numbers  of  the  Israelites 

10-15 

The  Camp  in  the  Wilderness    . 

16-18 

The  Levites 

21-25,  26 

Ordeals  . 

43-48 

Nazirites             . 

56-60 

Abstinence          . 

62,63 

Treatment  of  Hair 

65,  69 

aim        . 

.     122,  123 

Holiness               . 

209-211 

Budding  Sticks  . 

217 

Firstfruits  :  n'E'.Ni  and  C'ii:3 

225-229 

Priestly  Dues     . 

23^241 

xli  CONTENTS 

Some  longer  or  detached  Notes — conthiucd.  ?ages 

Defilement  by  the  Dead             .             «             .             .             .  241-248 

The  Personification  of  Nations              .              .              .         265,  266,  268 

Early  monumental  References  to  Edom           •             .             .  268 

The  Cnlt  of  Serpents     ......  275,  276 

Hebrew  popular  Poetry             .             .             .              288,  289,  299,  300 

Use  of  the  Divine  Names  in  c.  22-24  •             •             •             •  310-312 

Origin  and  Motive  of  the  Story  of  Balaam      .             .             .  314-322 

Power  of  a  Curse            ......  327,  328 

Differences    between    the    Festivals   of    earlier    and    later 

Times           .             <             .             .             1            •             .  404-407 

Index — 

I.  English         ,.....,  479-486 

II.  Hebrew         .......  487-489 

BIaP   ..««•..  Facing  Title-page 


ADDENDA  AND  CORRIGENDA, 


Pp.  45,  55.  More  interesting  than  any  of  the  parallels  to  the  ordeal  of 
Jealousy  which  are  cited  in  the  Commentary,  is  the  parallel  afforded  by 
the  recently  discovered  laws  of  Hammurabbi  [c.  2000  B.C.).  In  the  law  of 
Nu.  5,  the  ordeal  and  the  oath  of  purgation  are  combined  ;  in  the  law  of 
Manu  (cited  on  p.  45),  they  are  alternative  means  of  reaching  the  truth, 
but  no  rule  is  given  as  to  the  circumstances  under  which  a  particular 
alternative  is  to  be  adopted  ;  in  the  Babylonian  law  the  oath  is  provided 
for  one  case,  the  ordeal  for  another.  Apparently,  as  the  Rev.  H.  W. 
Robinson,  of  Pitlochry,  in  a  written  communication,  expresses  it,  "the 
suspicion  confined  to  the  husband  (and  therefore  self-originated)  is  dealt 
with  by  the  more  lenient  test  of  a  tribunal-oath  ;  whilst  outside  suspicion 
requires  the  more  severe  treatment  of  the  water  ordeal."  The  relevant 
sections  of  the  laws  of  Hammurabbi  run  as  follows  in  Mr.  Johns'  trans- 
lation (The  Oldest  Code  of  Laws  in  the  World,  Edin.  1903):  "§  131.  If  the 
wife  of  a  man  her  husband  has  accused  her,  and  she  has  not  been  caught 
in  lying  with  another  male,  she  shall  swear  by  God  and  return  to  her 
house.  §  132.  If  a  wife  of  a  man  on  account  of  another  male  has  had  the 
finger  pointed  at  her,  and  has  not  been  caught  in  lying  with  another  male, 
for  her  husband  she  shall  plunge  into  the  holy  river."  The  nature  of  the 
ordeal,  which  is  here  provided  for,  is  clearly  indicated  in  §  2  :  "If  a  man 
has  put  a  spell  upon  a  man,  and  has  not  justified  himself,  he  upon  whom 
the  spell  is  laid  shall  go  to  the  holy  river,  he  shall  plunge  into  the  holy 
river,  and  if  the  holy  river  overcome  him,  he  who  wove  the  spell  upon  him 
shall  take  to  himself  his  house.  If  the  holy  river  makes  that  man  to  be 
innocent,  and  has  saved  him,  he  who  laid  the  spell  upon  him  shall  be  put 
to  death.  He  who  plunged  into  the  holy  river  shall  take  to  himself  the 
house  of  him  who  wove  the  spell  upon  him." 

P.  121,  top.  The  second  meaning  of  Cush  (Cassites)  would  have  been 
better  described  as  highly  probable  than  as  "certain." 

Pp.  299,  300.  It  is  very  difficult  to  find  a  rendering  of  D'^a'sn  that  does 
not  imply  either  more  or  less  than  the  actual  evidence,  which  is  scanty, 
warrants.  "  Ballad-singers,"  the  rendering  proposed  long  ago  by  J.  J.  S. 
Perowne  (Smith's  DB.  ii.  584a),  comes  nearest  to  what  is  required, 
especially,  perhaps,  if  we  understand  "ballad  "  chiefly  of  popular  songs, 
treating  (like  the  "  border  minstrelsy ")  in  most  cases  of  the  defeat  of 
foes,  the  deeds  of  famous  warriors,  and  the  like.  We  can  only  be  guided 
by  the  nature  of  the  one  and  only  specimen  (Nu.  ji^r-so^  i\\:ii  happ^ins  to 


xiv  ADDENDA   AND    CORRIGENDA 

be  preserved  of  the  poems  actually  sung-  or  recited  by  these  men,  :\nd 
by  the  use  of  hiy^.  hoo  is  a  word  of  very  wide  meaning  (p,  344  f. ) ;  but 
some  of  its  meanings  are  clearly  inapplicable  in  determining  the  meaning 
of  C-h^"2n  ;  the  m^shalim  which  these  men  recited  were  neither  short 
pregnant  sayings  of  the  type  found  in  i  S.  24",  nor  artistic  apothegms 
such  as  constitute  the  bulk  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  (c.  10  if.).  Still,  if  '?ca 
became  so  widely  applicable,  it  is  necessary  to  allow  for  the  probability 
that  the  poems  whence  the  "ballad-singers"  derived  their  name  were  not 
strictly  limited  to  a  single  type.  The  usages  of  haD  most  directly  service- 
able in  considering  the  type  of  poems  recited  by  the  "  ballad-singers  "  are 
to  be  found  in  Is.  14^,  Mic.  2^  Hab.  2^  The  mashal  of  Is.  14*  is  a 
triumphal  song  over  the  fall  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  Israel's  great  enemy  ; 
this  mashal  may  well  have  been  modelled  on  the  ancient  meshdUm  or 
"ballads,"  which  used  to  be  actually  recited;  many  of  these  popular  and 
often-repeated  poems,  it  is  only  probable,  still  existed  in  and  after  the 
Exile,  and  were  known  to  the  author  of  Is.  14.  Possibly,  however,  the 
mashal  in  Is.  14  excels  the  ancient  m^shalim  in  length,  elaboration,  and 
artistic  skill  as  greatly  as  the  dirges  of  Lamentations  excel  the  earlier 
dirges  cited  in  2  S.  3*^'',  Am.  5',  and,  so  far  as  length  and  elaboration 
are  concerned,  the  more  famous  dirge  of  David  (2  S.  i^^"^-).  The  use  in 
Hab.  2'  is  similar.  The  mashal  of  Mic.  2'"-  is  called  a  "  lamentation  " 
(■pIj);  it  is  not  a  triumphal  poem  ;  in  spite  of  an  obviously  corrupt  text  (see 
Nowack's  Comm.),  it  somewhat  clearly  bewails  the  calamities  of  Israel. 
Possibly,  therefore,  the  "  ballad-singers "  may  at  times  have  worked  on 
the  emotions  of  their  audience  by  other  than  triumphal  and  heroic  songs. 
If  a  "  lamentation  "  (^n:)  might  be  termed  a  mashal,  might  not  also  a  kinah 
or  dirge,  such  as  that  in  Ezek.  19^"",  with  its  correct  allusions,  be  similarly 
classed?  In  any  case  it  is  hazardous  to  assume  that  the  term  mashal 
could  not  have  been  applied  to  many  poetical  compositions  which  do  not 
happen  to  be  so  termed  in  the  OT. ;  but,  if  this  be  so,  it  is  impossible  to 
determine,  with  the  scanty  evidence  available,  the  precise  range  of  subjects 
which  the  "  ballad-singers  "  treated,  or  the  emotions  to  which  they  ap- 
pealed. So  far  as  the  character  of  the  poem  is  concerned,  we  should 
perhaps  be  justified  in  concluding  (from  a  comparison  with  Nu.  2i^-3») 
that  a  mashal  was  a  poem  dealing  pre-eminently  with  war  or  defeat,  but 
at  the  same  time  written  in  a  less  elevated  strain  than  the  triumphal  odes 
of  Ex.  15  and  Jud.  5,  and  also  probably  treating  the  theme  from  a  more 
secular  point  of  view. 


PRINCIPAL   ABBREVIATIONS  EMPLOYED, 


I.  Texts  and  Versions. 

AV.         ,         ,         ,     Authorised  Version. 

EV.         ,         .         ,     English  Version. 

MT.  .  .  .  The  Massoretic  Text  (i.e.  the  vocalised  text  of  the 
Hebrew  Bible).  Variants  in  the  Hebrew  codices 
have  been  cited  from  De  Rossi,  Varies  Lectiones 
Vet.  Test,,  vol.  ii. 

OT.         .         .         .     Old  Testament. 

RV.         .         .         .     Revised  Version. 

S  ,  .  .  .  The  Samaritan  recension  of  the  Hebrew  (unvocal- 
ised)  text  (ed.  Blayney,  Oxford,  1790). 

(5  .  .  .  .The  Greek  (LXX)  Version  of  the  Old  Testament 
(ed.  Swete,  Cambridge,  1887-1894).  The  readings 
of  the  codices  are,  when  necessary,  distinguished 
thus  : — ffi*  ffiB  (Alexandrian,  Vatican,  etc.) ;  but 
ffit^  =  Lucian's  recension  as  edited  by  Lagarde 
{Libr.  Vet.  Test.  Greece,  Gottingen,  1883).  The 
cursives  have  been  (occasionally)  cited  from  Vet. 
Test.  Greece,  cum  variis  lectionibus,  ed.  Holmes, 
Oxon.  1798. 

?^  .  .  .  .  Jewish  recension  of  the  Hebrew  (unvocalised)  text, 
i,e.  the  consonants  of  the  ordinary  Hebrew  MSS. 
and  printed  Bibles. 

5    •         .         .         .     The  Syriac  Version  (Peshitto). 

E  «  .  .  .  The  Aramaic  Versions  or  Targums.  ST  commonly 
stands  in  particular  for  the  Targum  of  Onkelos, 
which,  when  necessary,  is  distinguished  as  E)° ; 
2CJer=the  (so-called)  Jerusalem  Targum;  21^°"  = 
the  Targum  of  Jonathan.  These  are  cited  from 
Walton's  "  Polyglott,"  vols.  i.  and  iv. 

U    •         >         .         .     Vulgate. 

3.  Sources  (see  pp.  xxix-xxxix). 

D    .         .         ,         .     The  Deuteronomist. 

E    .         .         ,         .     The  Elohistic  narrative,  or  the  Elohist. 

H    .        .        .        ,     The  Law  of  Holiness. 


XVI 


PRINCIPAL   ABBREVIATIONS    EMPLOYED 


J     . 

JE. 


P  . 
P«  . 
P»  . 
P"  . 


The  Yahwistic  narrative,  or  the  Yahwist. 

The  editor  (or  work   of  the   editor)  who   combined 

J  and  E  ;  also  the  narrative  of  J  and  E  when  these 

cannot  be  analysed. 
The   work   of   the    priestly   school,    or    the   (or    a) 

priestly  writer. 
The  author  of  the  History  of  Sacred  Institutions,  or 

his  work  (&  :=  g-roundwork  ;  see  p.  xxxiiif.). 
Work    of   the    priestly   school    later    than   Ps   {^  — 

secondary). 
Work  of  the  priestly  school  of  uncertain  (  =  ^)  date, 

but  in  some  cases  probably  earlier  than  P^. 


'  3.  Authors'  Names  and  Books. 

[See  also  the  literature  cited  at  the  beginning  of  several 
sections  of  the  Commentary ;  the  works  thus  given  are, 
within  the  section,  often  cited  by  the  author's  name  only.] 

Addis  .  I  ,  W.  E.  Addis,  The  Documents  of  the  Hexateuch, 
vol.  i.  1892 ;  vol.  ii.  1898.  Vol.  i.  contains  in 
consecutive  form  the  work  of  JE  ;  vol.  ii.  that  of 
D  and  P  ;  both  volumes  include  introductions  and 
critical  notes. 

Bacoo  •  •  •  B.  W.  Bacon,  The  Triple  Tradition  of  the  Exodus 
(Hartford  (U.S.A.),  1894). 

A  translation  of  Exodus  and  Numbers  and  the 
last  chapters  of  Deuteronomy  (exclusive  of  the 
detached  laws)  in  which  the  work  of  J,  E, 
and  P,  and  editorial  additions,  etc.,  are  distin- 
g-uished  by  variations  of  type.  In  an  appendix 
the  main  documents  are  given  separately  and 
consecutively.  This  work  gives  the  results  of 
the  literary  analysis  in  a  most  convenient  form, 
and  the  critical  discussions  are  often  marked  by 
much  acuteness. 

Barth  (or  Barth  XB)  J.  Barth,  Die  Nominalbildung  in  den  Seinitischen 
Sprachen,  Leipzig",  1894. 

BDB.  .  .  .  A  Hebrew  and  English  Lexicon  of  the  Old  Testament, 
based  on  the  Lexicon  a7id  Thesaurus  of  Gesenius, 
by  F.  Brown,  C.  A.  Briggs,  and  S.  R.  Driver, 
Oxford,  i89iff.  (parts  i-io,  reaching"  as  far  as  pp, 
now  (Jan.  1903)  published). 

BN.         ,         .         ,     See  Lagarde. 

BJ?.  .  ,  .  Edward  Robinson,  Biblicai  Researches  in  Palestine 
(references  are  to  ed.  i,  the  pages  of  which 
are  marked  at  the  foot  of  the  pages  of  ed.  2), 
London,  1841  ;  Later  Bibl.  Researches,  1852,  Ed. 
2,  1S56. 


PRINCIPAL   ABBREVIATIONS    EMPLOYED 


CH. 


Che[yne] 

CIS. 

Corn. 

COT.       . 


Dav. 
DB. 


Del. 
Di. 

Dr(iver). 


The  Hexateuch  according  to  the  Revised  Version 
arranged  in  its  constituent  documents  by  Members 
of  the  Society  of  Historical  Theology,  Oxford,  and 
edited,  with  introduction,  notes,  marginal  references, 
and  synoptical  tables,  by  J.  E.  Carpenter  and  G. 
Harford-Battersby  (now  G.  Harford),  London,  1900, 
The  introductory  matter  (with  additions),  the 
tables,  and  many  of  the  notes  have  been  repub- 
lished under  the  title.  The  Composition  of  the 
Hexateuch,  by  J.  E.  Carpenter  and  G.  Harford, 
London,  1902. 

CH.  followed  by  a  numeral  and  symbol,  such  as 
27^^,  15°,  35  >  refers  to  the  tables  of  words  and 
phrases  characteristic  of  JE,  D,  and  P  respectively 
given  in  this  work  on  pp.  185-221  of  vol.  i.  of  the 
first  edition,  and  pp.  384-425  of  the  second  edition. 
The  number  without  the  symbol  is  often  given 
when  the  context  renders  the  citation  of  the  letters 
unnecessary. 
T.  K.  Cheyne. 

Corpus  Inscriptionum  Semiticarum,  Paris,  1881  ff. 
C.    H.    Cornill,   Einleitung  in  das  alte   Testam.ent, 

eds.  3  and  4,  1896. 
Tlie  Cuneiforyn  Inscriptions  and  the  OT;  a.  transla- 
tion (London,  1885),  by  O.  C.  Whitehouse.  The 
second  edition  of  Die  Keilinschriften  und  das  alte 
Testament  (abbreviated  KAT.),  by  Eb.  Schrader. 
References  are  given  to  the  pages  of  the  2nd 
German  edition  which  are  marked  in  the  margin 
of  the  translation. 

A  third  edition  of  the  German  work  edited  (and 
indeed  entirely  rewritten)  by  H.  Zimmern  and  H. 
Winckler  is  now  (Feb.  1903)  complete. 
A.  B.  Davidson,  Hebrew  Syntax  (Edin.  1894). 
Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  and  in  particular  A  Diction- 
ary of  the  Bible,  edited  by  James  Hastings  (N.  Y. 
1898-1902). 
Franz  Delitzsch,  or  (before  references  to  the  Assyrian 

dictionary)  Friedrich  Delitzsch. 
August  T>\\\ma.nn,Numeri,Deuteronomiwn  undjosua, 
1886  (rewritten  on  the  basis  of  Knobel's  Commen- 
tary [Kn.]  on  the  same  books,  1861). 
S.  R.  Driver. 

(i)  ^  Treatise  on  the  Use  of  the  Tenses  in  Hebrew 

(ed.  3,  Oxford,  1892). 
(2)  An  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  OT. 
(abbreviated   L.O.T.),   cited   according  to    the 
pagination   of   ed.  6  (N.  Y.,   1S97),  which  is  re- 
•  tained  in  subsequent  editions. 


xviu  PRINCIPAL    ABBREVIATIONS    EMPLOYED 

EBi.        ,         ,         ,     EncydopcEcLia  Biblica,  a  Critical  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible,  edited  by  T.  K.  Cheyne  and  J.  Sutherland 
Black  (Lond.  1899  ff.). 
Vols,  i.-iii.  at  present  published. 

Ew.  .         .         .     Heinrich  Ewald. 

GB.  .         .         ,     The  Golden  Bough,  a  study  in  Magic  and  Religion, 

by  J.  G.  Frazer  (ed.  2,  London,  1900). 

Ges.  .  .  ,  Wilhelm  Gesenius,  Thesaurus  ling.  hebr.  et  chald. 
Vet.  Test.  (Leipzig,  1829-1853)  ;  the  last  part 
(c'-n)  was  completed  after  Gesenius'  death  (1842) 
by  Roediger. 

G.-K.  «  .  .  Wilhelm  Gesenius'  Hebrdische  Grammatik,  vollig 
umg-earbeitet  von  E.  Kautzsch,  ed.  26,  1896. 

English  translation  by  G.  W.  Collins  and  A.  E. 
Cowley  (Oxford,  1898). 

GVI.  .  .  .  Geschichte  des  Volkes  Israel,  by  Bcrnhard  Stade 
(Berlin,  1889). 

Hengst. .         .         .     E.  W.  Hengstenberg  ;  see  p.  307. 

HPN.  ,  ,  .  Studies  in  Hebrew  Proper  Names,  by  G.  Buchanan 
Gray  (Lond.  1896). 

JBLit.     .         .         .    Journal  of  Biblical  Literature  (Mass.  U.S.A.). 

J  Ph.         .         .         .    yoMr««/ q/PA/Zo/og;;)/ (Cambridge  and  London). 

JPTh.      .         ,         .    Jahrbilcher fiir  Protestantische  Theologie, 

JQR.       .         .         .     The  Jewish  Quarterly  Review. 

KAT.      .         .         .See  COT. 

Ka3's.  or  Kayser  .  August  Kayser,  Das  vorexilische  Bitch  der  Urge- 
schichte  Israels  und  seine  Erweiterungen  (Strass- 
burg,  1874). 

KB.  ...  Keilinschriflliche  Bibliotheh,  ed.  Eb.  Schrader 
(Beriin,  18898".). 

A  collection  of  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  texts 
transliterated  and  translated  into  German  by 
various  scholars.  Vol.  v.,  containing  the  Tel  el- 
Amarna  correspondence,  is  edited  by  H.  Winckler ; 
of  this  there  is  an  English  edition  with  an  English 
instead  of  the  German  translation  (London, 
1896). 

Ke.  or  Keil  .  .  C.  F.  Keil,  Comm.  on  Numbers'm  Keiland  Delitzsch's 
Biblical  Commentary  on  the  Old  Testament.  Refer- 
ences are  to  vol.  iii.  of  the  translation  (by  J.  Martin) 
of  the  Pentateuch  (Edin.  1867). 

Kit.  or  Kittel  .     R.     Kittel,    Geschichte    d.    Hebrder  (Gotha,     18S8). 

English  translation  by  J.   Taylor,  H.  W.  Hogg, 
and  E.  B.  Spiers  (London,  1S95,  1896). 

*^on,  .  .  .  F.  E.  Konig,  Historisch-kritisches  Lehrgebdude  der 
hebr.  Sprache,  vol.  i.  1881  ;  vol.  ii.  1895.  The  con- 
cluding part  of  the  work  appeared  in  1897  with 
an  independent  title  (Historisch-comparative  Syn- 
tax der  hebr.  Sprache) :  this  is  cited  as  Kon.  iii. 


rraNciPAL  abbreviations  employed 


Kue.  .  .  .A.  Kiienen,  The  Hexaieuch  (translation  by  P.  H. 
Wicksteed :  Lond.  i8S6).  References  are  given 
either  to  the  section  and  subsection,  or  to  the 
pages  of  the  original  work  (see  Deut.  p.  xxii), 
which  are  g-iven  in  the  margin  of  the  translation. 

Lagarde  .         .     Paul  de   Lagarde,    Uebersicht  iiber  die  im  Aramcii- 

schen,  Arabischen  u.  Hebrdischen  ilbliche  Bildung 
der  Nomina  {Qio\.\!\n^&r\,  1S89)  ;  abbreviated  ^A'^ 

Levy  ,  ,  •  J-  Levy,  Neuhebrdisclies  u.  Chalddisches  Wdrterbuch 
iiber  die  Talmudim  u.  Midraschim  (Leipzig,  1876- 
1889). 

L.O.T.    .         ,         .     See  under  "  Driver  "  (2), 

Moore     .         .         .     G.  F.  Moore,  "  Numbers  "  in  EBi. 

NHB.     .         .  .See  "  Levy." 

Nold.  ,  .  .  Th.  Noldeke,  Untersnchungen  zur  Kritik  des  A  T 
(Kiel,  1869). 

The  first  essay  (pp.  1-144)  is  entitled  Die  s.g. 
Grundschrift  des  Pentatetichs,  and  deals  with  the 
extent  and  characteristics  of  P. 

Now.  or  Nowack  .  W.  Nowack,  Lehrbuchd.  hebr.  Archdologie  (Freiburg 
and  Leipzig,  1894). 

Onom.  or  OS.  .     Ononiastica  Sacra,  ed.  Lagarde  (Gottingcn,  1SS7). 

This  contains  several  ancient  Onomastica,  in- 
cluding those  of  Jerome  and  Eusebius. 

OTJC  .  .  .  The  Old  Testament  in  the  Jewish  Church,  by  W. 
Robertson  Smith,  ed.  2,  1892. 

PAOS.    .         ,         .     Proceedings  of  the  American  Oriental  Society. 

Paterson  .         .     ].  A.  Y'a.terson,  The  Book  of  Nu?nbers,  cHtical  edition 

of  the  Hebrew  Text,  printed  in  colours  exhibiting 
the  composite  structure  of  the  work,  with  notes 
(Leipzig,  Baltimore,  and  London,  1900). 

PEP.  {On  St)  .      Palestine  Exploration  Fund  {Quarter/y  Statement). 

PHE.^  ^'^'^  .  .  Herzog's  Real- Encyklopiidie  fiir  protesiantische 
Theologie  u.  Kirche,  ed.  2,  1877-1888.  Of  the 
third  edition  by  A.  Hauck  (vol.  i.  1896),  12 
volumes  have  at  present  appeared. 

Ras>hi  ...  Rabbenu  Shelomoh  Yishaki  (1040-1105),  one  of  the 
most  learned  and  typical  of  the  mediaeval  Jewish 
commentators.  His  Commentary  on  the  Penta- 
teuch as  edited  by  A.  Berliner  (Berlin,  1866)  has 
been  used. 

Ros.  .  .  ,  E.  F.  C.  Rosenmiiller,  Scholia  in  Vet.  Test,  (pars 
sec. ;  Lipsise,  1798). 

SBE.  ,  .  ,  The  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  translated  b}'  various 
scholars,  and  edited  by  F.  Max  Miiller,  iS79fF. 

SBOT.  ,  ,  ,  The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Old  Testament,  ed.  Paul 
Haupt. 

The  volume  on  Numbers  is  by  J.  A.  Paterson 
(see  under  Paterson). 


PRINCIPAL   ABBREVIATIONS    EMPLOYED 


Schiirer  . 


Siphri     , 


St.  or  Sta. 
Str. 


Th.Ti{jd). 
TSK.       . 
We, 


ZATW., 
ZDMG. . 

ZDPV.  . 


E.   Schurer,    GescMchte  d.  j'ild.   Volkes  im  ZeilaUe? 

Jestc  Christi,  ed.  3,  1898-1902). 

English  translation  of  ed.  2  (Edin.  1885-1891). 
Sifrd  debi  Rab,  der  dlteste  halachische  u.  hagadtschi 

Midrasch  zu  Numeri  u.  Deuteronomium,  ed.  M. 

Friedmann  (Vienna,  1864). 
Bernhard  Stade,  (see  GVI). 
Strack,  Die  Biicher  Genesis,-  Exodus,  Leviticus,  u. 

Numeri  (in  Strack  and  Zockler's  "  Kurzgefasster 

Kommentar"),  1894. 
Theologisch  Tijdschrift  (Leiden). 
Theologische  Studien  u.  Kritiken, 
J.  Wellhausen,  Die  Cojjiposition  des  Hexateuchs  u. 

der  historischen  Biicher  des  AT,  ed.  2,  1889.     Cited 

as  Cotnp, 

The    references    to    the    Prolegomena    and    the 

Israelitische  u.  jildische  Gesch.  are,  unless  other- 
wise indicated,  to  the  fourth  and  second  editions 

respectively. 
Zeitschrift  fUr  die  Alttestamentliche  Wissenscliaft. 
Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen  Morgenldndischen   Gesell- 

schaft. 
Zeitschrift  des  Deutschen  Paldstina-  Vereins. 


Biblical   passages   are   cited   according  to  the    Hebrew   enumeration   of 

chapters  and  verses  :  where  this  differs  in  the  English,  the  reference 

to    the    latter    has   usually   (except   in   the   philological   notes)   been 

appended  in  a  parenthesis. 
The  sign  f  following  a  series  of  references,  indicates  that  all  examples 

of  the  phrase,  word,  or  form  in  question,  occurring  in  the  OT.,  have 

been  quoted. 
In  the  translations  of  the  poems  (pp.  345,  351,  360,  368)  the  single  inverted 

commas   {e.g.    '  glory ')   indicates   that   the    translation    is  from    an 

emended  text. 
Cp.  =  compare. 
Ct.  =  contrast. 


INTRODUCTION. 


§  I.   Title. 

Numbers,  as  the  title  of  the  fourth  book  of  the  Pentateuch, 
is  derived  through  the  Latin  from  the  Greek  usage.  ^ Api.Qfxo\ 
is  the  title  of  the  book  in  the  earliest  codices  of  (S  (n  and  B) ; 
but  it  is  much  older  than  these :  it  was  certainly  known  to 
Melito  *  (c.  175  A.D.),  and  was  in  all  probability  of  Alexandrian 
and  pre-Christian  origin. f  At  first,  as  in  the  case  of  the  other 
books  of  the  Pentateuch,  the  Latins  adopted  the  Greek  word 
as  the  title  ;  and  Tertullian  cites  the  book  as  Anthmi,\  But 
whereas  the  Greek  titles.  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  and 
Deuteronomy  persisted,  the  Greek  title  of  the  fourth  book 
was  subsequently  translated :  hence  the  title  in  the  Vulgate 
is  Numeri,  to  which  the  English  "  Numbers"  corresponds. 

A  similar  title  used  by  the  Palestinian  Jews,  and  already 
found  in  the  Mishnah  (c.  200  a.d.),  is  nmpQn  B'Dn="The 
fifth  (part  of  the  Pentateuch  treating)  of  the  mustered " 
(□''"Ilp3n).§  Still  more  similar  to  the  Greek  title  would  be  "12D 
D''"iSDD  (*'  Book  of  Numbers  "),  but  it  appears  doubtful  whether 
this  title  was  in  actual  use  among  the  Jews  of  the  Mishnic 

*  Eusebius,  HE.  iv.  26. 

t  Swete,  Introd.  to  the  Old  Testament  in  Greek,  215.  The  titles  of  the 
other  four  books  of  the  Pentateuch  are  cited  by  Philo  (see  Di.  Genesis,  p. 
vii ;  Ryle,  Philo  and  Holy  Scripture,  p.  xx) ;  'ApiOfxol  does  not  happen  to 
be  so  cited,  but  may  be  assumed  to  belong  to  the  same  age  as  the  rest  of 
the  Greek  titles  of  the  Pentateuch. 

:j:  "  Balaam  prophetes  in  Arithmis  arcessitus  a  rege  Balack,"  etc.  {Adv. 
Marc.  iv.  28). 

§  See,  e.g.,  Yotnd  vii.  i  ;  Menahoth  iv.  3.  In  the  Bab.  Talm.  see, 
e.g.,  Sofa   366  (top),  and   cp.   Origen  in  Eusebius,  HE.  vi.   25   {'Api.6f/.ol 

'A,Ufl€Cr(p€Kwd€i/JL), 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

period.  It  is  cited  by  some  writers*  as  "  Mishnic,"  but 
without  any  evidence  given  for  the  statement. 

Other  Hebrew  titles  of  Numbers  are  "I3T'1,  the  first  word, 
and  "imoa,  the  fourth  word,  of  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  book. 
The  second  of  these  is  used  in  modern  Hebrew  Bibles  :  from 
it  also  was  derived  the  name  of  the  great  Haggadic  commen- 
tary on  the  book,  the  Bemidbar  Rahbah.  The  title  "i^T*"!  was 
already  known  to  Jerome  and  Epiphanius.f 

As  indicative  of  the  contents  of  the  book  the  title  Numbers 
is  not  aptly  chosen  ;  for  it  is  only  a  small  part  of  the  book 
(c.  1-4.  26)  that  is  concerned  with  the  numbers  of  the 
Israelites.  Though  not  chosen  for  the  purpose,  the  Hebrew 
title  "In  the  wilderness"  would  be  far  more  suitable,  since 
the  wilderness  is  the  scene  of  the  greater  part  of  the  book 
(§2) 

§  2.  Scene  and  Period. 

The  contents  of  Numbers  are  very  miscellaneous  in  char- 
acter (see  §  5).  The  connection  between  subjects  successively 
treated  of  frequently  consists  in  nothing  more  than  the  fact 
that  they  are  associated  with  the  same,  or  successive  scenes 
or  periods  ;  and  the  whole  book  may  be  said,  in  a  measure, 
to  be  held  together  by  this  geographical  or  chronological 
skeleton.  It  will  therefore  be  convenient  to  indicate  at  once 
the  scenes  and  dates  that  are  given. 

The  scene  of  ii-io^^- 29-32  jg  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  of 
i2^^*'-20-^  the  wilderness  of  Paran,  of  22^-36^^  the  steppes  of 
Moab  at  the  N.E.  end  of  the  Dead  Sea.  The  first  and 
second  of  these  sections  is  connected  by  an  account  (lo^^"-^ 
10^^-12^°'')    of  the    march    northwards    from    Sinai    to    Paran 

*  H.  E.  Ryle,  Canon  of  the  Old  Testament,  294;  Swete,  op.  cit.  p.  215. 
Hottinger  (Thes.  Phil.  (1649)  P-  4^3)  writes:  "Dnrcan  nsD,  Liber  Nutner- 
orum.  Sic  appellatur  apud  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl.  lib.  6,  c.  19,  ex  Origine." 
This  statement  appears  to  rest  on  the  reading  of  Stephanus  (1544),  which 
has  not  been  admitted  by  later  editors,  in  Euseb.  HE.  vi.  25  (cited  in 
last  note),  aixfiiairapliJi  ^  TreKOvdlpt, ;  see  Heinichen's  ed.  i.  293,  xviii,  xix. 

t  See  Jerome,  Pre/,  in  libr.  Sam.  ct  Mai,  ed.  Migne,  xxviii.  552  (Quar- 
tus,  vajedabber  quern  Numeros  vocamus) ;  Epiphanius  in  Lagarde,  Syin- 
viicta,  ii.  178  (ova.dap7]p  i]  iaTLv'ApiOjjiQv). 


SCENE   AND    PERIOD  xxiii 

(or  Kadesh),  the  second  and  third  by  an  account  (2o22_2i32(35)j 
of  the  march  from  Kadesh  on  the  west,  to  the  steppes  of 
Moab  on  the  east,  of  the  'Arabah  (Jordan -valley).  Thus 
geographically  the  book  falls  into  three  sections :  i^-io^^ 
(also  v.2^~^2)  Sinai;  10^^-21®  North  of  Sinai  and  West  of 
the  'Arabah  ;   21^*^-36^^  East  of  the  'Arabah  (Jordan-valley). 

The  chronological  is  in  some  respects  less  clear  than  the 
geographical  articulation  of  the  book ;  for  in  a  crucial  passage 
(20^)  the  number  of  the  year  is  now  missing.  But  whether 
or  not  that  missing  number  was  40  (see  20^^  n.),  the  main 
periods  of  the  book  are  clear  :  1^-10^^  covers  19  days;  10^^-21^ 
just  under  38  years  (20^^  =  33^) ;  and  2i^°-36^^  not  more  than 
5  months  (cp.  33^  =  20^^,  20^*^,  Dt.  i^:  also  Ex.  7^,  Dt.  34'^). 

Several  dates  are  given  either  directly  or  inferentially. 
Those  given  inferentially  are  enclosed  in  square  brackets 
in  the  subjoined  table.      The  era  is  that  of  the   Exodus. 


Reference. 

Year. 

Month. 

Day. 

1^  (cp.  V. 

IB) 

a 

I 

[f  (cp.  9IS  Ex 

.40''- 

,7) 

I 

'] 

9^ 

I 

... 

9» 

[i|] 

X 

14 

10" 

a 

20 

20I 

[?xl] 

I 

•  »• 

(2o22-29^), 

33» 

xl 

S 

I 

Dt.    I* 

xl 

II 

I 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  references,  there  is  in  33^ 
a  purely  retrospective  reference  to  the  15th  day  of  the  ist 
month  of  the  year  i. 

On  the  value  of  these  chronological  statements,  see  §  15^. 

§  3,  4.   Connection  imth  preceding  and  following  hooks  :  Scope. 

§  3.  The  first  section  of  Numbers  (1^-10^*')  may  be  re- 
garded as  an  appendix  to  the  Books  of  Exodus  and  Leviticus. 
The  arrival  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai  is 
recorded  in  Ex.  19^,  their  departure  therefrom  in  Nu.  lo^'*-^^^^; 
and  thus  the  scene  of  all  that  lies  between  these  two  passages 
is  the  same.  Not  only  so :  the  main  subjects  of  Ex.  19^-Nu. 
10^^  are  closely  related,   and,  indeed,   parts  of  a  single  con- 


KXiv  INTRODUCTION 

ception — the  due  org-anisation  of  the  people  with  a  view  to 
securing-  the  sanctifying-  presence  of  Yahweh  in  their  midst. 
The  closing  chapters  of  Exodus  are  primarily  connected  with 
the  buildings  of  the  tabernacle  for  the  divine  presence  ;  Lev- 
iticus, with  the  institution  of  the  sacrificial  system,  by  means 
of  which  the  people  was  to  approach  Yahweh,  and  of  the 
priesthood,  the  members  of  which  were  to  be  the  immediate 
ministers  of  Yahweh  ;  the  opening-  chapters  of  Numbers,  with 
the  institution  of  the  Levites,  who  were  to  be  the  ministers 
of  the  priests,  and  with  the  arrangement  of  the  camp  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  symbolise  the  holiness  and  unapproach- 
ableness  of  Yahweh.  At  present  all  three  sections  of  Ex. 
19^-Nu.  10^"  contain  also  miscellaneous  laws  and  regulations 
not  closely  related  to  the  main  conception  (see,  chiefly,  Ex. 
20-23,  Lev.  17-26,  Nu.  5  f.) ;  but  this  ought  not  to  obscure 
the  essential  unity  of  the  whole.  Clearly,  then.  Exodus, 
Leviticus,  and  Numbers  might  have  been  much  more  suitably, 
though  very  unequally,  divided  as  follows:  (i)  Ex.  1-18:  The 
Exodus  from  Egypt  to  Sinai;  (2)  Ex.  19-Nu.  10^'':  Sinai; 
(3)  Nu.  10^^-36^^  :   From  Sinai  to  the  Jordan. 

As  the  first  section  of  the  book  is  closely  related  to 
Exodus  and  Leviticus,  so  the  latter  part  of  the  last  section 
is,  thoug-h  far  less  closely,  related  to  Deuteronomy.  The 
laws  and  instructions  recorded  in  33^*^-36^^,  like  those  of 
Deuteronomy  (see  4^  6^  7^'-  9^  12^  and  passim),  are  given  in 
prospect  of  the  passage  of  the  Jordan,  and  with  the  intention 
that  they  shall  be  carried  out  only  after  the  settlement  in 
Canaan  (33^*'^-  342-17.29  ^^2.m.^^  ^t  the  same  time  these 
chapters  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  detached  part  of  Dt.,  for 
(apart  from  considerations  referred  to  below)  they  deal  to  a 
considerable  extent  with  the  same  subjects ;  with  33^°"^^,  cp. 
Dt.  7i-«  i2-^«- ;  and  with  ZS^~^\  cp.  Dt.  ig^-^^  (Cities  of  Refuge). 

§  4.  The  preceding-  remarks  may  suffice  to  show  that  the 
Book  of  Numbers  is  a  section  somewhat  mechanically  cut  out 
of  the  whole  of  which  it  forms  a  part ;  the  result  is  that  it 
possesses  no  unity  of  subject. 

Unity  of  subject  is  only  to  be  found  when  1^-10^'*  is  dis- 
regarded.    The  subject  of  the  remainder  of  the  book  is  the 


SCOPE  XXV 

fortunes  of  the  Israelites  after  leaving-  Sinai,  where  'they  had 
been  duly  organised  as  the  people  of  Yahweh,  up  to  the 
point  at  which  they  are  ready  to  enter  and  conquer  the 
Land  of  Promise.  The  Conquest  itself  forms  the  subject 
of  the  Book  of  Joshua.  The  subject  of  Numbers  would  have 
been  fitly  rounded  off  by  the  record  of  the  Death  of  Moses 
(Dt.  34),  but  with  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  to  follow  this 
was  impossible. 

In  brief,  the  fortunes  of  the  Israelites,  as  here  described, 
are  as  follow . — From  Sinai  they  proceed  northwards  to  the 
southern  confines  of  the  Land  of  Promise,  with  a  view  to 
entering  it  from  this  direction.  Spies  are  despatched  to 
reconnoitre  the  land ;  they  return  with  a  report  that  dis- 
heartens the  people,  who  refuse  to  advance.  For  their 
unbelief  Yahweh  condemns  the  people  to  exclusion  from  the 
Land  of  Promise  for  40  years.  Repenting,  the  people 
attempt,  in  disregard  of  Moses'  entreaty,  to  advance  north- 
wards on  Canaan,  and  are  defeated.  Forty  years  later  they 
march  across  to  the  East  of  the  'Arabah  (Jordan-valley),  defeat 
the  Amorites,  occupy  their  country  (which  at  that  time  ex- 
tended from  the  Arnon  to  the  Jabbok),  and  settle,  more 
particularly,  on  the  East  of  the  Jordan  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Here  they  yield  to  the  temptation 
to  worship  the  god  of  the  country  and  to  have  intercourse 
with  foreign  women,  they  are  numbered  a  second  time,  ex- 
terminate the  Midianites,  and  receive  various  laws ;  the 
Gadites  and  Reubenites  are  given  possession  of  the  country 
E.  of  Jordan;  Moses  is  warned  by  Yahweh  of  his  approaching 
death,  and  Joshua  is  appointed  his  successor.  This  narrative 
is  enriched  by  episodes  :  four  of  these  are  connected  with 
the  northward  march  from  Sinai,  viz.  the  murmuring  at 
Tab'erah,  the  gift  of  Quails,  the  imparting  of  the  spirit  to 
seventy  elders,  and  the  vindication  of  Moses'  uniqueness 
against  Miriam  and  Aaron ;  another,  to  judge  by  its  present 
position,  was  referred  to  some  time  during  the  forty  years' 
exclusion  from  Canaan  ;  this  is  the  Revolt  of  Korah,  Dathan, 
and  Abiram,  another  (the  Bronze  Serpent)  to  the  advance  on 
the  East  of  Canaan.     The  longest  and  most  famous  episode 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION 

is  the  story  of  Moab's  machinations  against  Israel,  and  of 
Balak's  unsuccessful  attempt  to  use  Balaam  for  his  purposes  : 
this  is  naturally  connected  with  Israel's  residence  E.  of  Jordan. 

Since  at  most  nothing  but  the  revolt  of  Korah,  Dathan, 
and  Abiram  is  referred  to  the  Forty  Years'  Wandering,  the 
main  subject  of  the  book  is  practically  limited  to  the  fortunes 
of  the  Israelites  during  their  advance  towards  the  south  of 
Canaan  before  the  Forty  Years'  Wandering,  and  again  during 
their  advance  towards  the  East  of  Canaan  at  its  close.  The 
story  of  the  "  Forty  Years  "  is  scarcely  more  than  a  blank. 

The  greater  part  of  the  legal  matter  of  the  book  is  very 
loosely  connected  with  the  narrative,  and  deals  with  a  great 
variety  of  matters.  It  cannot  be  conveniently  classified 
under  general  heads  ;  but  the  subjects  of  the  laws  and  the 
points  at  which  they  are  inserted  in  the  narrative  will  be 
most  easily  gathered  from  the  subjoined  table  of  contents 
of  the  whole  book. 

§  5.  Contents. 
[Topics  derived  from  JE  (§  yf.)  are  italicised.] 

I.     il_iolO(29-32)^ 

Scene:  The  Wilderness  of  Sinai.     Period'.   19  days  (i^  10^^). 

1-4.  The  census ;  the  arrangement  of  the  camp  ;  the  functions 
of  the  Levites. 

1.  The  numbers  of  the  secular  Israelites.     Position 

of  the  Levites  in  the  camp. 

2.  The  arrangement  of  the  camp  ;  the  numbers  of 

the  secular  Israelites. 
oi-io^    Aaron's  sons ;   the  relation  of  Levi  to  the  other 

tribes. 
^11-39^  The  numbers  of  the  male  Levites  upwards  of  a 

month  old  ;  the  duties  of  the  several  Levitlcal 

families,  and  their  place  in  the  camp. 
240-51^  The  numbers  of  firstborn  male  Israelites. 
4.  The  numbers  of  the  male  Levites  between  30  and 

50  years  of  age ;    the  duties  of  the  several 
Levitical  families. 


COXTENTS    OF    NUMBERS  xxvii 

5,  6.       Various  laws  and  regulations. 

5^"'^.      Exclusion  of  certain  unclean  classes  from 
the  camp. 

g5-io_     Some  priestly  dues. 

gii-31^  The  ordeal  of  jealousy. 

6^"-^     The  law  of  the  Nazirite. 

522-27^   The  priests'  blessing. 
7.  The  offerings  of  the  tribal  princes. 

8-"*.        The  golden  candlestick. 
S-^"-"-.       Solemn  dedication  of  the  Levites. 
g23-2C^     Age  of  Levitical  service. 
gi-i4_       The  supplementary  Passov^er. 
j^i5-23_     'pi-jg  cloud  over  the  tabernacle. 
The  two  silver  trumpets. 


a-10 


II.     I0ll-2l9. 

Scene'.  North  of  Sinai,  West  of  the  'Arabah. 
Period:   38  (or,  in  round  numbers,  40)  years. 

iq1i-2s    From  Sinai  to  the  wilderness  of  Paran. 

jq29-34^  Departure  from  the  Mount  o/Yahweh:  Moses  invites 

Hobab  to  act  as  guide. 
jQ35f._      Verses  addressed  to  the  ark, 
ii^~^.      Tab'erah. 
11*"^.    Kibroth - hattd dvah :   the   seventy    elders;   Eldad  and 

Medad ;  the  lust  for  flesh  satisfied  and  punished  by 

the  gift  of  quails.     Haseroth. 

1 2.  Moses  vindicated ;  MirianCs  leprosy, 

13,  14.   Spies,  despatched  from  the  wilderness  of  Paran  to  spy 

out  Canaan,  bring  back  the  report  that  the  land  is 
worthless ;  the  people  are  disheartened  and  rebel. 
Men  despatched  from  Kadesh  bring  back  the  report 
that  the  land  is  fruitful,  but  the  inhabitants  i?ivin- 
cible  ;  the  people  are  disheartened  and  rebel.  Moses 
intercession  with  Yahweh ;  the  present  generation 
condemned  to  exclusion  from  Canaan  ;  the  people 
condemned  to  forty  years'  wandering  ;  fitile  attempt 
to  invade  Canaan  from  the  south  ;  Honnah. 


xxvia  INTRODUCTION 

1 5,  Various  Laws. 

v.^"^^.     The  proper  quantities  of  meal-offerings  and 

libations. 
y  17-21^  The  cake  of  firstlings. 
y_22-3i_   Propitiation  for  sins  of  ignorance. 
y  32-36^  Punishment  of  the  Sabbath-breaker, 
y  37-41^  Tassels. 
16-18.    The    rebellion    of   Korah,  Dathan,   and  Ahiram;    the 
blossoming  of  Aaron's  rod,   and  vindication  of  the 
superiority  of  the  tribe  of  Levi ;  dues  payable  to  this 
tribe  by  the  Israelites. 
19.  Law  of  defilement  by  the  dead,  and  of  its  removal  by 

means  of  the  ashes  of  a  red  cow. 
20^^"^^.     Arrival  at  the  wilderness  of  Sin.     Death  of  Mi7'iam  at 
Kadesh.      Want  of  water.     The  waters  of  Meribah  ; 
sin  of  Moses  and  Aaron. 
20I4-21,   Permission  to  pass  through  Edom  songht  and  refused. 
2o22-2!)    Death  of  Aaron  at  Mt.  Hor ;   Ele'azar  succeeds  him. 
2i^~^.      Horniah. 

21*"^.  Departure  from  Mt.  Hor.  Edom  avoided.  The  bronze 
serpent. 

in.  2 1 10-3613. 

Scene'.  East  of  the  'Arabah  (Jordan-valley). 
Period:   Not  more  than  5  months. 

2iio-20^  Places  passed  on  the  march:  Obhoth,  'lyye-'Abarim, 
wilderness  E.  of  Moab,  Zered,  Arnon,  Beer,  Mat- 
tanahy  Nahali'el,  Batnoth,  Pisgah.  Citation  from 
the  '■'■Book  of  YahweKs  Battles."  Song  of  the 
Well. 

2i2i-32^  Permission  to  pass  through  the  land  of  the  Aniorites 
sought  and  refused.  Israel  defeats  the  Aniorites,  and 
occupies  the  country  between  Arnon  and  fabbok.  Poem 
on  the  destruction  of  Moab. 

2j33-35^  Defeat  of 'Og,  king  of  Bashan  [insertion  from  Dt. ; 
see  §  \\a\. 

22^.         Arrival  at  the  steppes  of  ^Nloab. 


SOURCES    OF    NUMBER  xxix 

22--24-5.  Moab  and  Israel ;  Balak  and  Balaam, 

25^"^.         The  Israelites  seduced  by  Moahite  "women ;  the  Baal 

of  Peor. 
2-6-13^        The    Israelite    and    the    Midianitess;     the    zeal    of 

Phinehas ;    perpetuity   of    the   priesthood   in    the 

line  of  Phinehas. 
26.  The  second  census. 

27^"^^.        The  daughters  of  Selophehad ;  law  of  succession  to 

landed  property. 
2-.i2-22^      Moses  bidden  to  prepare  for  death  ;  Joshua  appointed 

to  succeed  him. 
28  f.  A  scale  of  public  offerings. 

30.  Conditions  of  the  validity  of  a  vow. 

31.  The  extermination  of  Midian. 

32.  The    settlement    of    Gad,    Reuben,   and   (v.^^-  39-42^ 

Manasseh  on  the  East  of  Jordan. 
SS^^-S^.    Various  laws  relating  to  the  conquest  and  settlement 
of  Canaan. 

2250-56^  The  idolatrous  objects  of  the  Canaanites  ; 

the  distribution  of  the  land  by  lot. 
34^"^^.    The  boundaries  of  Canaan. 
2^16-29^  Names  of  persons  appointed  to  super- 
intend the  allotment  of  Canaan, 
35^"®.      Levitlcal  cities. 
35^K    Cities  of  refuge. 

36.         Marriage    of     heiresses    (Selophehad's 
daughters). 

§  6-13.  Sources, 

§  6.  The  question  of  the  origin  of  Numbers  could  only  be 
adequately  discussed  in  connection  with  the  wider  question  of 
the  origin  of  the  Pentateuch  ;  and  much  of  what  follows  must 
be  read  in  the  light  of,  or  supplemented  by  reference  to,  such 
works  as  are  cited  below. 

Judged  even  by  itself,  Numbers  supplies  abundant  evidence 
that  it  Is  not  the  work  of  Moses,  or  even  of  a  contemporary 
of  the   events   described.      Not    only  is   Moses    referred    to 


XXX  INTRODUCTION 

throughout  In  the  3rd  person,  and,  in  one  passage*  In  par- 
ticular, in  terms  that  have  always  occasioned  difficulties  to 
those  who  assumed  the  Mosaic  authorship,  but  the  repetitions, 
the  divergent  and  contradictory  accounts  of  the  same  matter, 
the  marked  differences  of  style  in  different  parts,  the  impos- 
sible numbers,  and  many  other  features  of  the  book,  prove 
clearly  that  Numbers  is  not  the  work  of  one  who  was  con- 
temporary with  the  events  described,  or  familiar  with  the 
conditions  presupposed. t 

In  one  passage  only  {^y^ ;  see  n.  there)  does  the  book  lay 
any  claim  to  the  authority  of  Moses  for  its  statements  ;  that 
passage  is  closely  related  to  others  (P)  which  are  clearly  of 
far  later  origin  than  the  age  of  Moses,  and  consequently  the 
Mosaic  aitUiorship  even  of  this  particular  passage  cannot  be 
seriously  considered.  J 

§  7.  Numbers  (and  more  especially  that  part  of  it  which  is 
contained  in  1 0^^-25)  is,  like  Genesis  and  Exodus,  mainly  derived 
from  two  earlier  works.  These  works  were  (i)  a  compilation 
(JE)  which  was  made  at  the  end  of  the  7th  century  B.C.,  and 
consisted  for  the  most  part  of  extracts  from  a  Judaean  collec- 
tion  of  stories    (J)  of  the   9th  century   B.C.,   and   a   similar 

*  12'  "  N'ow  the  man  Moses  was  very  humble  (before  God),  above  all 
the  men  which  were  upon  the  face  of  the  earth." 

t  Cp.  §  15  on  "The  Historical  Value  of  Numbers"  ;  and  in  illustration 
of  the  features  of  the  book  mentioned  above,  see  pp.  10-15  (on  impossible 
numbers),  and,  amongst  many  other  discussions,  pp.  92  f.,  128-134,  1S6-193 
on  repetitions,  divergences,  and  differences  of  style. 

%  The  particular  evidence  for  the  literary  analysis  will  be  found  in  the 
discussions  prefixed  to  the  several  sections  of  the  Commentary.  The 
fundamental  arguments,  alike  for  the  analysis  and  especially  for  the 
dates  and  origins  of  the  several  sources,  cannot  be  reproduced  here,  for 
some  of  them  find  only  a  subsidiary  support  in  Numbers.  This  is  par- 
ticularly the  case  in  regard  to  the  analysis  of  JE  into  its  constituent 
elements,  J  and  E.  It  would  indeed  be  evident,  even  if  Numbers  had  to 
be  judged  apart  from  the  remainder  of  the  Hexateuch,  that  JE  was  itself 
a  composite  work  ;  but  the  actual  analysis,  so  far  as  it  can  be  carried 
through,  rests  largely  on  criteria  established  from  the  clearer  evidence  of 
Genesis  and  Exodus.  Some  of  the  matters  here  presupposed  will  natur- 
ally be  dealt  with  in  due  course  in  the  Commentaries  on  Genesis  and 
Exodus;  meantime  the  reader  should  refer  to  Driver,  L.O.T.  116-159: 
CH.  i.  1-179;  see  also  the  present  writer's  article  in  EBi.  on  "Law 
Literature"  (especially  §  10-23).  • 


SOURCES    OF    NUMBERS  xxxi 

collection  (E)  made  in  the  Northern  king-dom  in  the  8th 
century  b.c.  ;  and  (2)  of  a  priestly  history  of  sacred  institu- 
tions (P"),  which  was  written  about  500  B.C.  The  combined 
works  (JEP^),  or  in  some  cases,  perhaps,  P^  before  it  was 
united  with  JE,  appears  to  have  been  gradually  but  consider- 
ably enlarged  by  accretions  (P"  and  P"),  chiefly  of  a  legal,  but 
in  some  cases  also  of  a  quasi-historical,  character.  In  the 
following-  paragraphs  the  extent  of  these  various  literary 
elements  in  Numbers  will  be  briefly  considered. 

§  8.  The  earliest  literary  eletnents  in  Numbers. — There  is 
little  difficulty  in  eliminating  those  parts  of  Numbers  which 
were  derived  from  JE.  To  a  great  extent  these  extracts  stand 
by  themselves,  side  by  side,  but  not  interwoven  with,  the 
extracts  from  P;  see  10^^-12^^  20^'^"^^  21^-"^^  22^-25^,  and  note 
the  distribution  of  italic  type  in  the  table  of  contents  given 
above  (§  5).  Even  where  (as  in  c.  13  f.  16.  20^"^^  21^"^^)  the 
accounts  of  JE  and  P  have  been  interwoven,  they  can,  for  the 
most  part,  be  separated  with  ease ;  the  chief  difficulties  are 
presented  by  14I-10. 26-3s  201-1^ ;  see  pp.  132,  258  f. 

Far  more  difficulty  attends  the  attempt  to  analyse  JE  into 
its  constituents,  J  and  E.  Even  where  doublets  and  incon- 
gruities are  present,  which  admit  of  little  doubt  that  the 
narrative  containing  them  is  composite,  it  is  often  impossible 
to  carry  through  an  analysis  in  detail.  Thus,  for  example, 
in  the  case  of  JE's  closely  interwoven  stories  of  the  spies 
(c.  13  f.),  and  of  Dathan  and  Abiram  (c.  16),  no  analysis  that 
has  been  off"ered  can  be  regarded  as  anything  more  than  partial 
and  tentative.* 

There  remains  a  number  of  passages  that  can  with  some 
confidence  be  referred  to  their  ultimate  source.  The  following 
appear  to  be  derived,  at  least  in  the  main,  from  J  : — 10^^-'^'^  (the 
departure  from  Sinai),  1 1^~^^-  i8b-24a.  31-35  (quails),  22-^"^^  and  other 
parts  of  the  Balaam  narrative.  Among  the  passages  which 
most  clearly  appear  to  be  derived  from  E  are  ii^^-  ^^*-  24b-30  ^^-j^g 
seventy  elders),  i2^~^^  (the  vindication  of  Moses),  20^*"^!  2i2i-24a 

*  See  pp.  i33f.,  190.  Other  passages  presenting^  difficulties  of  which 
various  solutions  have  been  offered  are,  20^''^  (see  p.  258  f.),  21^"'  (pp.  272, 
274),  2i"-2-  (p.  2Sof.),  c.  22-24  (P-  312  f.).  and  25^-'  (p.  380 f.). 


KXXU  INTRODUCTION 

(the  embassies  to  Edom  and  the  Amorites),  and  the  larg^er  part 
of  the  story  of  Baalam  (c.  22-24).  Some,  indeed,  assign  the 
stories  of  the  seventy  elders  and  of  the  vindication  of  Moses  to 
later  (7th  cent.)  amplifications  of  E,  but  on  grounds  which 
appear  to  the  present  writer  insufficient  and,  in  part,  mistaken 
(see  pp.  99,  116). 

The  most  important  passage  of  JE  that  is  of  later  origin 
than  the  main  sources,  J  and  E,  is  14^^"^*;  this  may  have 
been  a  7th  century  amplification  of  J  or  E,  or  it  may  be  the 
work  of  the  7th  century  editor  who  combined  J  and  E  (see 

P-  155)- 

It  is  not  certain  that  the  order  in  which  the  incidents  were 
related  in  JE  was  in  all  cases  the  same  as  at  present.  There 
are  some  reasons  for  thinking  that  the  stories  of  the  elders  and 
of  the  vindication  of  Moses,  which  now  appear  as  episodes  in 
the  narrative  of  the  march  from  Sinai  to  Kadesh,  once  formed 
part  of  the  narrative  of  the  stay  at  Sinai  (see  p.  98).  Clearly 
misplaced  passages  in  JE  are  2i^~^and  32^^"*^  .  ggg  ^Iso  p.  258  f. 

§  9.  The  poems.  —  Literary  elements  even  more  ancient 
than  the  stories  of  J  and  E  are  to  be  found  among  the  poems 
and  poetical  fragments  (lo^sf-  2ii«- i^f.  27-30  23T-10. 18-24  243-9- 
15-17  (i8f.  20. 2if.  23f.)),     On  624-26,  gge  pp.  xxxvi,  xxxviii. 

The  poems  attributed  to  Balaam  (apart  from  24^2-2^)  may 
be  of  the  same  ox\%\n  as  the  prose  narratives  which  now  include 
them.  But  this  is  certainly  not  the  case  with  the  rest  of  the 
poems.  One  fragment  (21^**-)  is  definitely  cited  from  a  literary 
source,  the  **  Book  of  Yahweh's  Battles,"  another  as  a  poem 
that  was  commonly  recited  by  a  professional  class  of  reciters 
or  "ballad-singers";  and  it  is  clear  that  the  "Folk-song" 
addressed  to  the  well  (2i^'^'-)  and  the  snatches  connected  with 
the  setting  out  and  return  of  the  ark  (lo'^^-)  are  older  than  the 
writer  who  has  introduced  them  into  the  narrative. 

It  is  probable  that  the  verses  contained  in  24^^-24  ^vere 
inserted  after  the  completion  of  JE  (p.  373).  But  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  rest  of  the  poems  formed  an  original  part 
of  JE.  Whether  the  editor  of  that  work  derived  them  from  J 
or  E  is  less  certain :  he  may  have  derived  some  of  them  from 
other  sources.      But,  be  that  as   it   may,   the  poems  them- 


SOURCES    OF    NUMBERS  xxxiii 

selves  (except  24^^"-*)  are  scarcely  of  later  origin  than  the 
8th  cent.  B.C.,  and  some  of  them  may  be  considerably  earlier. 
Exact  and  certain  determination  of  date  in  any  single  case  is 
out  of  the  question  ;  to  what  extent  approximate  and  probable 
decisions  may  be  reached  is  discussed  in  the  Commentary. 

§  10.  The  later  literary  elements  of  Numbers . — Less  than  a 
quarter  of  Numbers  is  derived  from  JE.  The  remaining  and 
larger  parts  of  the  book  are  sufficiently  similar  and  related  to 
one  another  to  be  grouped  under  the  common  symbol  P. 
They  are  all  the  vi^ork  of  a  priestly  school  employing  a  large 
common  vocabulary  and  governed  by  important  and  funda- 
mental common  ideas.  But  the  activity  of  this  school  extended 
over  centuries,  and  differences  as  well  as  similarities  appear  in 
what  must  be  regarded  as  the  work  of  many  hands  and  many 
generations. 

P,  the  work  of  this  school,  consists  in  part  of  narrative,  in 
part  of  legal  matter ;  and  different  generations  contributed 
both  to  the  narrative  and  to  the  legal  parts.  Thus,  to  refer  to 
two  clear  instances,  the  priestly  narrative  of  Korah  has  clearly 
been  amplified  by  later  additions  intended  to  give  the  story  a 
different  turn  (p.  192  f.);  and  the  law  of  Levitical  service  in 
g23-26  js  different  from  that  presupposed  in  c.  4  (p.  32  f.).  The 
existence  of  differences  is  clear ;  the  extent  of  them  is  less 
clear,  and  the  distribution  of  the  material  of  the  book  among 
the  different  hands,  whose  work  may  be  detected,  is  attended 
with  much  difficulty  and  uncertainty.  It  will  be  convenient, 
therefore,  to  indicate  here  the  general  nature  and  value  of  the 
available  evidence,  and  to  gather  together  the  more  probable 
results  which  may  be  obtained  from  it.  Three  symbols  have 
been  used  to  distinguish  the  different  elements  of  P.  P^  de- 
notes the  fundamental  work,  the  priestly  history  of  sacred 
institutions ;  P°  is  used  for  whatever  is  clearly  later  in  origin 
than  P°,  and  therefore  secondary  in  regard  to  it ;  P''  is  used 
for  that  large  amount  of  matter  which  can  neither  be  shown  to 
be  later  in  origin  than  P^,  nor  yet  to  have  formed  an  original 
part  of  that  work.  P^  is  the  work  of  a  single  writer ;  but  P^ 
and  V  cover  the  work  of  an  indefinite  number  of  hands  ;  P'  is 
in  part  narrative,  in  part  legal ;  P""  is  entirely  legal.  P^  was 
c 


xxxiv  INTRODUCTION 

written  about  500  B.C.  ;  P^  including  some  g'losses  later  than 
(5  (cp.  §  14),  is  the  work  of  various  writers  and  editors  be- 
tween the  date  of  P^  and  about  300-250  B.C.  ;  P''  includes 
laws,  some  of  which  may,  so  far  as  the  substance  even  of 
their  literary  expression  is  concerned,  extend  back  into  the 
6th,  or  even  the  7th  cent.  B.C.  The  symbol  H  is  retained  for 
that  code,*  commonly  known  as  the  Law  of  Holiness,  which 
was  incorporated  by  P'  with  P*^  (or  JE  D  P),  but  was  itself 
earlier  than  P^  (early  6th  cent.).  One  or  two  laws  in  Numbers 
appear  to  be  derived  from  H  (15^^"^^  33^"^"  ^^*'>  possibly  also  lo^^-). 

A  complete  solution  of  the  literary  problem  presented  by 
P  would  show  (i)  the  exact  extent  of  P^ ;  (2)  the  matter  (if  any) 
contained  in  P^  which  had  previously  received  a  fixed  written 
or  oral  setting- ;  (3)  the  matter  (P'')  which  had  received  a  fixed 
setting  at  a  time  prior  to  P^,  but  was  only  incorporated  in 
P^  (or  JE  D  P)  subsequently  to  the  completion  of  that  work; 
(4)  the  matter  (P')  later  in  origin  than  P^;  (5)  the  dates  at 
which  the  various  matters  defined  in  (2),  (3),  and  (4)  originated, 
and,  in  the  case  of  (3)  and  (4),  the  dates  at  which  they  were 
incorporated.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  solution  is  and  will 
remain  very  far  from  complete.  So  far  as  (5)  is  concerned, 
the  available  evidence  is  given  in  the  Commentary ;  but  there 
are  certain  general  considerations  which  have  been  frequently 
alluded  to  in  the  Commentary  that  must  be  explained  here. 

§  II.  Positive  cHteria  for  the  elimination  of  /*^  —  Good 
reasons  have  been  assigned  for  regarding  references  to  any 
of  the  following  as  distinct  signs  of  P':  f  (i)  *'the  altar  of 
mcense"  or  "the  golden  altar."  This  is  described  in  a 
supplemental  section  (Ex.  30^"^'^),  and  is  frequently  mentioned 
from  the  time  of  the  Chronicler  downwards,  J  but  appears  to 
have  been  unknown  to  the  author  of  Ex.  25-29,  which  forms 
an  integral  part  of  P*^.  After  the  establishment  of  a  second 
altar,  it  became  necessary  to  distinguish  the  main  and  original 

•  Driver,  L.O.T.  47-49,  145-152;  CH.  i.  c.  13,  §  8. 

t  See  We.  Comp.  139  ft".  ;  Driver,  L.O.T.  37  f.  (with  references  there); 
CH.  c.  xiii.  §  10. 

t  E.g.  I  Ch.  &^  H^\  ,  Mac.  1^1  4« ;  Philo,  De  Vita  Mosis,  iii.  9 ;  Yoma 
V.  5,  7  ;  Zebafyim  v.  2. 


SOURCES    OF    NUMBERS  xxxv 

altar  as  **the  altar  of  burnt-ofFering- "  ;  this  term  also  and 
the  reference  to  "altars"  (in  the  pi.)  are,  therefore,  further 
indications  of  P^  The  "altar  of  incense"  may  have  been  a 
very  late  addition ;  it  is  not  clear  that  it  was  even  know^n  to 
the  Pseudo-Hecataeus  (3rd  cent.  B.C.);  see  Schiirer,^  ii.  287 
(the  note  is  more  detailed  than  in  ed.  2,  Eng-.  tr.  11.  i.  281). 
(2)  The  unction  of  the  priests.  In  P^  unction  is  a  peculiar 
distinction  of  the  high  priest  (Ex.  29) ;  subsequently  it  was 
extended  to  the  ordinary  priests  (Ex.  40).  (3)  The  "cords" 
of  the  tabernacle,  mentioned  in  Ex.  35^^  39**^  (P"),  appear  to  have 
been  unknown  to  Ex.  25-29  (P^).  (4)  The  sweet  incense 
required  in  Ex.  ^o^-^^^-,  and  frequently  alluded  to  in  Ex.  35-39, 
appears  to  have  been  unknown  to  the  original  text  of  Ex. 
25-29  :  see  CH.'s  notes  on  Ex.  25^  30^^;    also  85^. 

Directly  these  tests  of  P^  are  not  widely  applicable  in 
Numbers  (yet  see  3^-  ^^-  ^^^-  ^"^  4^^) ;  indirectly  they  are  more  im- 
portant, for  they  point  to  the  secondary  character  of  Ex.  35-40, 
and  these  chapters  afford  in  turn  a  standard  of  style  whereby 
to  judge  others.  Thus  the  recurrence  in  a  marked  degree  of 
the  diffuseness  and  circumstantiality  of  detail  (cp.  Holzinger, 
Einleitnng,  419  f.)  which  characterise  Ex.  35-40,  in  c.  1-4.  7. 
26.  31,  points  to  the  editorial  and  amplifying  activity,  if  not  to 
the  actual  authorship,  of  P* 

The  retrospective  dates  in  7^  9^-  ^-  ^^  are  most  satisfactorily 
explained  by  attributing  the  sections  thus  introduced  to  P^; 
they  cannot  be  earlier  than  P^,  for  they  presuppose  it. 

On  the  ground  of  vocabulary  only,  it  is  seldom  possible  to 
refer  passages  with  any  certainty  to  P%  Mere  peculiarity  of 
expression  points  at  most  to  heterogeneity,  not  to  posteriority ; 
it  may  render  the  ascription  of  a  passage  to  P*^  improbable  ; 
but  it  is  no  criterion  between  P'  and  P\  And,  further,  even  if 
it  can  be  shown  that  the  formula  introducing,  or  concluding,  a 
law  is  characteristic  of  P^,  this  only  proves  the  date  of  the 
incorporation  of  the  law  in  P^  (or  JE  D  P) ;  it  proves  nothing 
with  regard  to  the  literary  origin  of  the  law  itself.  These 
points  need  to  be  borne  in  mind  in  consulting  the  collections 
of  the  stylistic  peculiarities  of  P^  given  by  CH.  (1.  155)  and 
Holzinger  [Einleitung,  418). 


xxxvi  INTRODUCTION 

§  12.  Difficulty  of  delimiting  F^ . — Whatever  can  be  defined 
as  P^  formed  no  part  of  P^ ;  but  this  is  not  the  case  with  P\ 
It  is  impossible  to  determine  with  any  confidence  how  much, 
if  any,  of  the  matter  defined  as  P''  formed  an  original  part  of 
P^.  The  provisional  answer  to  the  question  raised  depends 
on  the  view  taken  of  the  manner  in  which  P^  adhered  to  his 
leading  motive. 

The  leading  purpose  of  P^  was  briefly  to  recapitulate  the 
history  of  the  origin  and  subsequent  fortunes  of  the  chosen 
people,  and  especially  to  describe  the  origin  of  their  institu- 
tions. How  strictly  did  he  confine  himself  to  that  purpose? 
Did  he  only  suffer  his  narrative  to  expand  into  fulness  at 
points  at  which  the  origin  of  institutions  naturally  fell  to  be 
described,  or  did  he  himself  at  times  snap  the  thread  of  his 
history  in  order  to  insert  laws,  or  masses  of  laws,  that  had  no 
connection  with  it  ?  The  former  hypothesis  seems  to  the 
present  writer  the  more  probable.  If  it  be  correct,  then  many 
sections  of  Numbers — such  as  t^^^^-^^'^  (27)  j^^  jg^  28 f.  30 — must 
be  considered  to  have  formed  no  original  part  of  P^,  simply  on 
the  ground  that  they  have  no  organic  connection  with  the 
priestly  narrative,  no  such  connection  as  exists,  for  example, 
between  P^'s  story  of  Korah  (c.  16 f.)  and  the  laws  regulating 
dues  payable  to  the  priests  (c.  18).  At  the  same  time,  many  of 
these  laws,  which  are  unrelated  to  the  narrative,  are  in  them- 
selves by  no  means  clearly  later  in  origin  than  P^  ;  it  is  likely 
that  some  of  them  are  earlier,  and  in  that  case,  even  if  they 
were  inserted  by  P^  in  his  work,  they  were  inserted  probably 
with  little  modification,  and  without  any  attempt  to  connect 
them  closely  with  his  narrative. 

That  many  of  the  laws  defined  as  P  are  in  substance  earlier  than  P^^, 
and  may  in  some  cases  represent  actual  pre-exilic  practice,  has  been  very 
generally  recognised:  see  Stade,  GVI.  ii.  66;  Driver,  L.O.T,  142 f.;  the 
introductory  notes  to  Driver  and  White's  "  Leviticus  "  (English)  in  SBOT. 
pp.  56-59  ;  CH.  c.  xiii.  §  9.  Numbers  contains  one  clear  instance  of  older 
matter  not  legal  in  P,  viz,  the  Priests'  Blessing  (6^^"^). 

For  legal  matter  which,  though  it  formed  no  part  of  P?,  may,  in  sub- 
stance, be  earlier  than  that  work,  CH,  adopt  the  symbol  P*,  i.e.  Priestly 
Teaching.  But  the  symbol  is  not  altogether  suitable  ;  it  suggests  a  unity, 
though  it  cannot  be  shown  (as,  indeed,  is  admitted)  that  the  various 
matters   included   under    P'   ever  existed,    like   H,   as   a  separate   code. 


SOURCES    OF   NUMBERS  xxxvii 

Further,  a  series  of  symbols  like  that  adopted  by  CH.  (P^,  P',  P?,  ps) 
necessitates,  in  the  case  of  every  passage,  a  judgment  as  to  relative  date 
which  there  is  frequently  no  sufficient  evidence  to  justify. 

Finally,  the  question  connected  with  the  closing-  chapters 
of  the  book  (c.  28-36)  must  be  considered.  In  27^2-23  ^psj 
Yahweh  bids  Moses  prepare  for  death  ;  and  in  Dt.  34  (P^)  the 
death  of  Moses  is  narrated.  In  the  case  of  Aaron  (20^'-^-"^  (P^)). 
the  warning  of  death  and  the  death  itself  are  related  in  im- 
mediate sequence.  Did  the  writer  follow  his  own  model 
exactly,  and  was  Nu.  2J^^~^^  immediately  followed  by  Dt.  34 
in  P^  ?  The  assumption  that  this  was  the  case  can  hardly  be 
made  with  confidence ;  for  it  would  not  have  been  unnatural  to 
P^  or,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  inconsistent  with  his  method,  to 
have  traced  back  the  regulations  regarding-  the  conquest  and 
distribution  of  Canaan,  of  which  c.  28-36  in  part  consists,  to 
Moses,  and  to  have  represented  him  as  making  these  after  he 
had  been  warned  of  death,  and  Joshua  had  been  appointed  to 
succeed  him.  At  the  same  time,  little  or  nothing-  in  these 
chapters  can  be  conclusively  shown  to  have  formed  part  of  P^, 
while  much  in  them,  partly  on  grounds  indicated  above,  partly 
on  more  specific  grounds  given  in  the  Commentary,  clearly 
appears  to  be  the  work  of  P' :  such  is  the  case  with  c.  28-30 
(p.  403  fl^.),  c.  31  (p.  419),  c.  32  (apart  from  the  misplaced  frag- 
ments of  JE  in  it ;  see  p.  426),  ^^^-^^  (p.  443  f.),  35I-8  (p.  466  f.), 
c.  36  (p.  477).  Three  sections  (33^°-^^  34^-15  35^-34)  are  con- 
nected by  a  similar  introductory  formula  which  may  point  to 
incorporation  by  the  same  hand  ;  the  first  of  these  sections  is 
related  to  P,  and  may,  with  the  other  two,  have  been  embodied 
in  P^ ;  but  even  this  is  far  from  certain. 

§  13.  Starting  from  the  conclusions  stated  in  the  preceding 
sections,  the  probable  contents  of  P^  (so  far  as  it  is  preserved 
in  Numbers)  may  be  outlined  as  follows : — In  continuation  of 
the  record  of  the  erection  of  the  tabernacle,  and  the  institution 
of  the  priests  as  given  in  Exodus  and  Leviticus,  the  author  re- 
lated the  institution  of  the  Levites,  the  census  of  the  tribes, 
and  the  establishment  of  a  camp  order  (c.  1-4),  and  possibly, 
in  connection  therewith,  inserted  the  laws  for  securing  the 
cleanness   of  the  camp  and  for  the  delivery  of  the  Priests' 


xxxvm  INTRODUCTION 

Blessing  (5^"*  &^'^).  In  prospect  of  departure  from  Sinai  two 
silver  trumpets  are  made  (10^"^).  The  people  leave  Sinai  and 
encamp  in  the  wilderness  of  Paran  (lo"^-).  From  thence  the 
spies,  including  Caleb  and  Joshua,  are  despatched  ;  and  the 
revolt  of  the  people  on  their  return  is  punished  by  the  condem- 
nation to  forty  years' wandering  in  this  wilderness  (c.  13  f.)- 
At  a  time  and  place  undefined  the  whole  people,  led  by  Korah, 
call  in  question  the  exclusive  rights  of  the  Levites ;  but  the 
rank  of  the  Levites  Is  vindicated  by  the  destruction  of  Korah, 
and  by  the  blossoming  of  Aaron's  rod  ;  and  the  dues  payable 
to  them  are  fixed  by  divine  revelation  (c.  16-18).  In  the 
(fortieth)  year  the  people  come  to  Kadesh,  and  murmur  at  the 
lack  of  water ;  Moses  and  Aaron  sin,  and  are  condemned  to  die 
outside  Canaan  [20^'^^).  On  the  way  from  Kadesh  to  the  East 
of  the  'Arabah,  Aaron  dies  on  Mt.  Hor,  and  the  people  mourn 
for  him  thirty  days  ;  Ele'azar  succeeds  him  {2or^~'^^),  The 
people  reach  and  encamp  In  the  steppes  of  Moab  (22^).  Here 
Phlnehas,  son  of  Ele'azar,  displays  zeal,  and  Is  promised  the 
perpetuation  of  the  priesthood  In  his  family,  and  here  (possibly 
after  a  second  census)  Moses  is  bidden  to  get  up  into  a  moun- 
tain of  the  'Abarim  and  die.  At  his  request  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  successor,  Joshua  Is  solemnly  set  apart  for  the 
purpose,  but  with  the  provision  that  he  Is  to  be  subordinate 
to  Ele'azar  the  priest  (27^-"^^).  Possibly  before  P^  recorded  the 
death  of  Moses  (Dt.  34)  he  Inserted  certain  instructions 
communicated  through  Moses  relative  to  the  conquest  and 
distribution  of  Canaan. 

H  and  P\ — The  clearest  example  of  matter  preserved  in 
P,  but  in  substance  earlier  than  P^,  is  the  Priests'  Blessing 
^52i-27^_  Probably  earlier  are  passages  from  H,  or  a  kindred 
source  (lo^^-  1 537-41  2^521.  55f.^ .  ^^^  possibly  earlier  are  many  of 
the  laws  (including  5^-6^^  1^17-21. 22-31  j^^  assigned  to  P". 

P\  — The  chief  expansions  of  the  narrative  of  P^,  and  the 
chief  narrative  matter  added  at  various  times  to  P^  (or  JED  P), 
are  c.  7.  8^-22  9I5-23  ^qVl-^z  168-11.  i6f.  17I-5  (i636-40)  26.  (mostly 
If  not  entirely)  31  and  36  (if  not  also  27^"^^).  Among  the 
laws  or  legal  sections  that  can  with  most  reason  be  regarded 
as  later  than  P°  are  8^-*  9I-1*  28  f.  30.  35I-8. 


TEXT    OF    NUMBERS  xxxlx 

Besides  these  additions,  the  recasting-  and  amplification  of 
0.  1-4  and  the  insertion  of  at  least  most  of  c.  28-36  are  to 
be  attributed  to  P\  Minor  results  of  the  activity  of  these 
later  writers,  or  annotators,  may  be  seen,  for  example,  in  the 
addition  of  the  name  of  Aaron  to  that  of  Moses  (i^n.) ;  such 
annotations  or  modifications  of  the  text  continued  as  late  as 
the  3rd  cent.  B.C.,  as  is  shown  by  a  comparison  of  |^,  S,  and 
©  (§  14). 

§  14.   Text. 

Like  the  remaining'  books  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  unlike 
such  books  as  Samuel  and  the  Minor  Prophets,  the  text  of 
Numbers  appears  to  have  suffered  comparatively  little  from 
simple  errors  of  transcription.  The  most  corrupt  passages 
are  to  be  found  in  some  of  the  poems,  and  in  these  the  most 
serious  corruptions  are  more  ancient  than  ©,  and,  conse- 
quently, only  to  be  emended,  if  emended  at  all,  by  conjecture. 
Some  of  the  proper  names,  alike  of  persons  and  places,  several 
of  which  are  mentioned  only  in  Numbers,  have  suffered  mutila- 
tion, or  are  otherwise  corrupt.  But  for  the  assumption  of 
far-reaching-  corruption  of  the  text  and  mutilation  of  (perhaps) 
the  great  majority  of  the  names  in  the  book,  which  has  recently 
led  Professor  Cheyne  to  propose  a  large  number  of  purely 
conjectural  emendations,  there  is  no  manifest  justification ; 
and,  as  he  still  considers  the  disclosure  of  his  principles  of 
textual  criticism  "premature"  {Critica  Biblica,  p.  5),  it  is 
impossible  at  present  to  form  a  final  estimate  of  the  probability 
of  any  of  the  several  conjectures.* 

•  The  proposed  emendations  will  be  found,  for  the  most  part,  in  the 
EncyclopcEciia  Biblica,  especially  in  the  articles  on  the  various  names 
occurringf  in  Numbers.  Subsequently  they  are,  it  appears,  to  be  collected 
in  Critica  Biblica,  of  which  Part  I.  (on  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah)  has  just 
appeared  (Jan.  1903).  Only  a  small  proportion  of  the  emendations  have 
been  cited  in  the  Commentary,  for  so  many  of  them,  judged  by  any 
hitherto  recog'nised  principles  of  textual  criticism,  are  altogether  void  of 
probability.  The  reader  who  is  interested  is  once  for  all  referred  to  the 
relevant  articles  in  EBi.  In  criticism  of  Prof.  Cheyne's  methods  (so  far 
as  they  can  be  inferred  from  the  emendations  offered),  see  G.  B.  Gray, 
"The  Encyclopaedia  Biblica  (vols.  i.  and  ii.)  and  the  Textual  Tradition  of 
Hebrew  Proper  Names"  \x\JQR.  xiii.  375-391. 


xl 


INTRODUCTION 


The  variations  in  the  codices  of  fl^  are  comparatively  few 
and  uninteresting-.  A  comparison  of  f^,  S,  and  (G,  the  earhest 
and  most  important  witnesses  to  the  text,  bring-s  more  varia- 
tions to  light.  In  large  part  these  are  due  to  amplification,  or 
curtailment,  of  the  original  text.  It  is  probable  that  in  the 
great  majority  of  cases  the  shorter  is  the  earlier  reading ; 
whether  it  is  also  the  better  reading"  depends  on  the  view 
taken  as  to  the  date  at  which  the  Pentateuch  should  be  re- 
g-arded  as  complete.  It  is  difficult  to  draw  a  sharp  line 
between  the  latest  editors  (P^;  see  §  13),  whose  remarks 
might  be  regarded  as  part  of  the  original  work  in  its  final 
form,  and  the  early  scribes  who  transmitted  the  text  of  the 
completed  work.  The  amplifications  due  to  these  two  classes 
are  similar,  and  the  variants  of  S  and  ffi  have  been  cited  freely 
in  the  Commentary  that  the  student  may  the  better  appreciate 
to  what  extent  these  (for  the  most  part)  minor  changes  were 
being-  made  as  late  as  the  3rd  cent.  B.C.,  in  ^  as  well,  though 
not  so  frequently,  as  in  ffir  and  S. 

{a)  S  contains  the  longest  additions.  Many  of  these  are 
of  one  character:  they  are  derived  from  parallel,  or  supple- 
mentary, narratives  in  Dt.,  and  generally  with  little  other 
modification  than  was  involved  in  adapting  the  narrative  of 
Dt.,  which  is  in  the  first,  to  the  narrative  of  Nu.,  which  is  in 
the  third  person.     These  additions  *  occur  as  follows : — 


Dt. 


i«-^     is 

inserted  a 

fter  Nu 

lo'o. 

J  20  23<i 

,, 

I2'«. 

j21-33 

,, 

)       11 

1333. 

J  42 

,, 

i44». 

j44«^ 

,, 

1       >i 

1445^ 

o24-2ort 

26^- 

28  2^  6 

201*. 

2« 

,, 

. 

21". 

217-19 

,, 

, 

2I12. 

224f. 

,, 

2l50. 

228.  29a 

,, 

, 

2l22. 

gSl 

,, 

. 

2  J  23a 

a21f. 

,       ,, 

27I3. 

*  Similar  additions  occur,  though  with  less  frequency,   in  other  books  : 
thus    Dt.    i^"^"    is    inserted    after    Ex.    18^*.     See   Colenso,    Pentateuch,    vi. 

531-533- 


TEXT    OF    NUMBERS  xll 

This  series  of  additions  is  of  special  interest,  inasmuch  as 
it  points  to  21^^"^^  (  =  Dt.  3^^-;  cp.  p.  306),  which  is  found 
alike  in  P^,  S,  and  fflr,  being-  the  earliest  result  of  a  tendency 
to  interpolate  passages  from  Dt.  in  Nu.  The  text  of  Nu. 
in  both  S  and  fflr  is  also  affected  by  that  of  Dt.  in  27^2f.^  ^nd  in 
fflr  only  in  32^^  (see  notes  there).  Another  instance  of  editorial 
activity  that  has  left  a  slight  trace  on  '^,  but  is  much  more 
marked  in  S  (and  in  this  case  in  dj  also),  may  be  detected  in 
c.  32  (see  32^  n.). 

Among  other  passages  in  which  S  has  a  longer  text  than 
both  f^  and  ffit  are  3^^  31^*^  (Moses  represented  as  the  source 
of  Ele'azar's  communication  in  v.^-). 

S  is  sometimes  shorter  than  ffi  (see  under  (b)),  very  seldom 
shorter  than  %^  (but  see  under  (c)). 

Apart  from  omissions  and  additions,  S  has  some  readings 
certainly  more  primitive  than  f^  (e.^.  in  c.  22-24  !  see  p.  3iof.), 
some  that  are  certainly  secondary  {e.£:  25*  n.). 

{b)  ffi*  frequently  has  a  text  longer  than  Pf,  and  sometimes 
than  both  |l^  and  S.  For  example,  it  is  longer  than  both  P^ 
and  S  in  2'^  (see  phil.  n.  on  2^)  3^''  7^^  10^  14^^  23^-^  24-^  32^*^ 
33^*^  36'-,  and  than  f^  only  in  4^*  j^-^^^^^  Frequently  ffi 
assimilates  repeated  formulae  by  adding  words  omitted  in 
^  or  otherwise  ;  t  see  the  notes  on  i^o-^t  (p.  jq),  4^  15^-  ^  19^ 
218  26.  (p.  388  f.),  28  f.  (p.  412  f.). 

Less  frequently  (5  has  a  shorter  text  than  f^ ;  see  especi- 
ally, 920-23  J 333  1-35  26*ob  285f-  and  under  (c). 

In  c.  I.  26  the  arra7igement  oi \h&  text  in  ffir  is  less  primitive 
than  in  |^  (p.  10)  ;  see  also  32^  n.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
placing-  10^^  after  lo^^^-  ffir  may  be  more  primitive  than  ^.| 

(c)  In  its  g-reater  brevity  ^  as  a  whole  represents  an 
earlier  stage  of  the  text  than  either  S  or  (5.  But  it,  too, 
suffered  some  amplification  at  a  time  later  than  that  of  the 
archetype  of  f^,  S,  and  fflr ;  a  probable  instance  of  such  ampli- 

*  On  the  characteristics  of  this  version  of  Nu.,  see  Z.  Frankel,  Ueber 
den  Einfluss  der  paldstinischen  Exegese  auf  die  alexandrinische  Her- 
meneutik  (Leipzig-,  1851),  167-200. 

t  Cp.  Frankel,  Vorstiidien  zu  der  Sept.  78  f. 

X  See  Ginsburg,  Introd.  to  the  Hebrew  Bible,  341-343. 


xlii  INTRODUCTION 

fication  may  be  found  in  the  word  HTiS,  which  is  read  by  ft| 
in  28^^,  but  is  absent  from  both  S  and  ffi ;  another  instance 
may  be  the  gloss  (omitted  in  ©)  in  13^^,  and  the  true  text  of 
g2o-23  j^ay  ijg  between  the  fulness  of  |^  and  the  brevity  of  ffir. 
An  ampHfication  of  the  text  earlier  than  S  or  (!j  is  2i^^~^^  (see 
under  [a)). 

Among"  the  more  interesting  instances  of  late  modifications 
of  another  kind  are  the  substitution  in  22^'^  (and  possibly  else- 
where in  0.  22-24)  of  U^?hii  for  mn^  (p.  310  f.),  and  the  prob- 
able replacement  of  an  original  C'TI  WD  (cp.  ffi)  in  s^**  by  D''0 

§  15,  16.   T/ie  historical  Value  of  Nianhers. 

The  Book  of  Numbers  presents  itself  as  a  record  of  the 
nomadic  period  in  the  history  of  Israel.  But  the  various 
sources  (§§  6-13)  from  which  the  book  was  compiled  were  all 
written  centuries  later  than  that  period.  The  historical  value 
of  Numbers  consists  largely  in  the  evidence  indirectly  given  by 
these  sources  regarding  the  periods  to  which  they  severally 
belong.  This  is  considered  below  (§  16,  17).  We  turn  first 
to  consider  the  value  of  Numbers  as  a  record  of  the  age  which 
it  describes. 

Much  that  is  here  related  of  the  age  of  Moses  can  be 
demonstrated  to  be  unhistorical ;  much  more  is  of  such  a 
nature  that  it  can,  with  far  greater  probability,  be  explained 
as  unhistorical  than  as  historical ;  there  remain,  particularly 
in  JE,  a  certain  number  of  statements  and  descriptions  which 
are  not  incompatible  with  any  known  historical  facts  and  con- 
ditions, and  in  or  underlying  some  of  these  it  is  not  difficult 
to  discern  what  is,  historically,  entirely  possible,  not  to  say 
probable.  Nor  is  the  possibility  that  reminiscences  of  actual 
historical  events  and  conditions  are  here  preserved  by  any 
means  small.  In  written  form,  even  the  stories  of  J  and  E 
may  be  no  older  than  the  gth  or  8th  cent.  B.C. ;  but  the 
traditions  themselves  must  be  much  older.  Again,  the  "  Book 
of  Yahweh's  Battles,"  from  which  a  solitary  fragment  is  cited 
in  2i^'*'-,  may  well  have  contained  some  old  poems  recording 
conflicts  of  the  wandering  Israelites  with  the  peoples  settled 


THE    HISTORICAL   VALUE    OF    NUMBERS  xliii 

on  the  border  of  Canaan ;  if  so,  these  poems  would  have 
formed  a  stream  on  which  some  knowledge  of  the  far-off  age 
may  have  drifted  down.  Unfortunately,  be  this  as  it  may, 
such  facts  had  only  too  many  opportunities  of  being-  distorted, 
or  placed  in  a  wrong  light,  as  the  stories  were  told  and  retold 
during  the  five  or  six  centuries  that  must  have  separated  JE 
from  Moses.  The  uncertainty  thus  created,  and  the  number 
of  alternative  interpretations  of  the  frequently  conflicting 
traditions,  can  only  be  diminished  by  the  discovery  of  fresh 
material.* 

But  when  every  allowance  has  been  made  for  all  this 
uncertainty  and  ambiguity,  the  value  of  this  residuum  of  what 
cannot,  at  all  events  at  present,  be  shown  to  be  unhistorical 
lies  in  this  :  it  contains  the  earliest  theory  or  tradition  of  the 
Hebrews  as  to  the  nomadic  period  in  their  history  ;  through  it 
(and  other  biblical  data)  the  life  and  fortunes  of  the  Hebrev/s 
under  Moses  before  they  settled  in  Canaan  must  be  read,  if 
any  attempt  is  made  to  read  them  at  all.  For  contemporary 
evidence,t  which  casts  much  welcome  light  on  the  conditions 

•  Some  sentences  from  Mr.  Haverfield's  Essay  in  Authority  and 
Archceology  (p.  307)  are  worth  consideration  in  connection  with  what  is 
said  above.  After  citing-  some  instances  in  which  Roman  archaeology 
has  confirmed  the  traditions  preserved  in  Latin  authors,  he  continues : 
"There  comes  into  view  a  new  method  of  testing  legends,  a  new  touch- 
stone to  try  them.  The  old  method  of  probing  the  leg-end  itself  is  useless. 
It  is  easy  to  shew  of  most  legends  that  they  are  either  impossible,  or 
hig-hh-  improbable,  or  self-contradictory,  or  absurd,  or  otherwise  seriously 
defective.  But  that  after  all  is  implied  when  the  legend  is  called  a 
leg-end.  Some  external  touchstone  is  wanted  which  will,  in  each  case, 
help  to  sift  false  from  true.  We  must  not,  however,  exaggerate  the 
significance  of  such  confirmations.  If  one  or  two  or  three  stories  rest 
on  a  basis  of  fact,  it  does  not  follow  that  all  do ;  and  though  it  is 
interesting-  to  know  that  such  and  such  legends  are  based  on  fact,  we 
have  to  learn  the  fact  first  before  we  can  say  anything  about  the  legend." 
Unfortunately,  at  present,  archasolog-y  does  not  furnish  us  with  touch- 
stones for  the  legends  in  Numbers. 

t  Most  important  is  the  Tel  el-Amarna  correspondence  (ed.  Winckler, 
KB.  v.;  also  published  with  English  translation  of  the  text,  London,  1896). 
No  mention  is  made  in  this  correspondence  of  the  Israelites  ;  whether  they 
formed  part  of  the  Habiri,  who  figure  in  some  of  the  letters,  is  disputed  ; 
but  even  if  they  did,  only  biblical  data  justify  any  statement  about  the 
Israelite  Ijfabiri  in  particular.  An  inscription  of  Menephthah  (c.  1270  B.C.), 
discovered   at  Karnak  in  1896,  in  recording  the  establishment  of  peace 


xliv  INTRODUCTION 

of   life   (especially  in  Canaan)    in    this    age,  says   absolutely 
nothing-  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness. 

The  greater  part  of  Numbers  (P)  is  of  no  earlier  origin 
than  the  6th  or  5th  cent.  B.C.  ;  much  of  it  is  still  later.  A 
smaller  part  (JE)  contains  the  earlier  traditions.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  some  historical  facts  not  found  in  JE  may  underlie 
P,  but  the  general  impression  given  by  that  work  of  the 
Mosaic  age  is  altogether  unhistorical,  and  much  of  the 
detail,  which  consists  in  large  part  of  statistics  and  laws, 
can,  with  varying  degrees  of  cogency  in  different  cases,  be 
demonstrated  to  be  entirely  unreal,  or  at  least  untrue  of  the 
age  in  question. 

(a)  The  numbers  of  the  Israelites  are  unreal ;  cp.  pp.  10-15. 

(b)  The  lisis  of  individuals,  though  they  contain  some 
ancient  names,  cannot  be  accepted  as  genuine  records  of  the 
Mosaic  age  ;  see  pp.  6  f.,  135  f. 

(c)  The  organisation,  position,  and  duties  of  the  Levites, 
and  the  fiscal  system  for  the  support  of  priests  and  Levites, 
as  described  and  presupposed  in  various  parts  of  the  book, 
cannot  be   harmonised   with   earlier   Hebrew  evidence ;  they 

says  :  "  Vanquished  are  the  Tehennu  (Libyans) ;  the  Khita  (Hittites)  are 
pacified ;  Pa-Kan'ana  (Canaan)  is  prisoner  in  every  evil ;  Askalni 
(Ashkelon)  is  carried  away ;  Gezer  is  taken  ;  Yenoam  is  annihilated  ; 
Ysiraal  is  desolated,  its  seed  is  not ;  Charu  has  become  as  widows  for 
Eg-ypt ;  all  lands  together  are  in  peace."  The  determinative  shows  that 
the  Ysiraal  mentioned  in  this  inscription  was  the  name  of  a  tribe  or 
people,  not  of  a  country ;  and  some  have  seen  in  the  statement  an  allusion 
to  Israel  in  the  wilderness  south  of  Canaan.  If  this  be  so,  this  inscription 
forms  an  exception  to  the  statement  in  the  text.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
at  least  as  probable  that  the  allusion  is  to  "  Israel,"  already  settled  some- 
where in  Canaan.  Then  the  chief  importance  of  the  inscription  would  lie 
in  giving  a  date  before  which  "  Israel"  was  in  Canaan.  See,  further, 
Driver  in  ArchcBology  and  Authority,  62-65  (with  the  literature  there 
cited).  This  alliision  of  Menephthah's  is  the  only  contemporary  mention 
of  Israel  in  what  may  be  termed  widely  the  age  of  Moses.  This  fact,  and 
our  consequent  dependence  on  the  biblical  data  for  any  knowledge  of  the 
fortunes  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness,  is  greatly  obscured  in  works 
like  Sayce's  Early  History  of  the  Hebrews,  and  Hommel's  Ancient  Hebrew 
Tradition  ;  see,  further,  the  present  writer's  criticisms  of  these  works  in 
Expositor,^  vii.  (May,  1898)  337-355,  vi.  (Sept.  1897)  173-190,  and  (more 
generally)  Driver's  article  in  Archceology  and  Authority  (especially  pp. 
62-76). 


THE  HISTORICAL    VALUE    OF   NUMBERS  xlv 

correspond  to  an  ecclesiastical  org-anisation  that  first  became 
established  many  centuries  after  Moses ;  see  pp.  2 1-25,  236-24 1 . 

{cf)  Many  of  the  laws  are  expressly  stated  to  be  for  the 
regulation  of  life  in  Canaan  ;  few  of  the  rest  have  any  relation 
to  nomadic  life.  In  the  abstract  this  may  not  be  incompatible 
with  the  promulgation  of  them  by  Moses ;  but  such  an  origin 
is  highly  improbable,  and  not  to  be  accepted  on  the  evidence 
of  so  late  a  work  ;  many  of  the  particular  laws  contain  much 
that  is  definitely  inconsistent  with  Mosaic  origin,  and  point  to 
a  relatively  late  ag"e ;  for  this  see  the  Commentary. 

(e)  The  chronological  statements  of  the  book  cannot  be  fully 
judged  apart  from  a  consideration  of  the  chronological  system 
of  the  entire  Pentateuch.*  They  are  perhaps  not  incompatible 
with  what  is  related  in  P^,  though  nineteen  days  is  short  for 
all  that  is  placed  even  in  that  work  between  i^  and  10^^.  With 
the  account  given  by  the  book  in  its  present  form  the  chrono- 
logical statements  cannot  be  treated  as  real ;  this  is  clearest  in 
the  closing  section.  Between  the  departure  from  Mt.  Hor  and 
the  delivery  of  Moses'  final  address  to  the  people  there  elapsed 
noi  more  than  five  months  (cp.  21*  33^^  20^^,  Dt.  i^).  Into 
these  few  months  there  is  now  compressed  the  journey  south 
to  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah,  thence  north  to  the  Arnon,  the  despatch 
of  messengers  to  the  Amorites,  war  with  the  Amorites  and 
occupation  of  the  country  between  Arnon  and  Jabbok,  the 
attempt  of  Balak  to  get  Balaam  to  curse  Israel  (this  alone,  if 
Balaam  came  from  Pethor,  extending  over  at  the  least  three 
months),  the  intercourse  of  the  Israelites  with  the  Moabite 
women,  the  taking  of  the  second  census,  the  appointment  of 
Joshua,  the  war  with  Midian,  and  the  subsequent  seven  days 
of  purification  for  the  warriors ;  and  in  addition  to  the  fore- 
going, the  communication  of  many  laws. 

(/)  It  is  perfectly  possible,  not  to  say  probable,  that  the 
Israelites,  before  their  settlement  in  Canaan,  were  brought 
into  relation  with  the  Midianites,  and  that  at  times  they  were 
at  strife  with  them  ;  but  the  account  of  the  war  with  Midian 
given  in  c,  31  is  entirely  unreal ;  p.  418  f. 

*  In  criticism  of  this  see,  in  particular,  Noldeke,  Untersuchungen^ 
107  ff. 


xlvi  INTRODUCTION 

If  we  now  turn  from  P  to  JE,  we  find  less  that  Is  so 
demonstrably  unhlstorical,  especially  if  we  understand  the 
narratives  to  refer  to  a  relatively  small  number  of  people. 
Even  in  some  cases  where  there  may  be  reasons  for  doubting 
whether  the  narrative  is  true  of  all  Israel,  it  may  preserve 
in  a  generalised  form  a  reminiscence  of  the  actual  fortunes 
of  individual  tribes,  or  sections  of  Israel.  But  there  is  much 
that  is  far  more  probably  due  to  the  activity  of  the  popular 
imagination  or  religious  feeling  than  to  any  actual  occurrences 
in  the  time  of  Moses  ;  this  is  the  case  with  the  various  stories 
explanatory  of  the  names  of  places,*  with  the  reference  to  a 
gigantic  race  resident  in  Hebron  (i3^-^'),  and  with  the  story  of 
the  bronze  serpent  (2i*~^°).  It  is  the  view  of  prophecy  and 
of  the  character  of  Moses  prevalent,  not  in  the  age  of  Moses, 
but  at  the  time  when  the  story  finally  became  fixed,  that 
gives  substance  and  significance  to  the  stories  of  the  vindica- 
tion of  Moses  and  of  the  seventy  elders  (ii  f.). 

Underlying  the  narrative  of  the  spies  is  the  fact  of 
the  connection  of  the  Calebites  with  Hebron,  and  also  a 
possibly  correct  reminiscence  that  they  came  thither  from 
the  south ;  some  struggle  of  the  Reubenites  for  supremacy 
may  lie  at  the  basis  of  the  story  of  Dathan  and  Abiram; 
the  traditional  names  Balaam  and  Balak,  Eldad  and  Medad, 
may  have  attached  to  historical  individuals ;  but  whether 
these  events  and  persons  belonged  to  the  age  of  Moses  we 
are  in  no  position  to  affirm.  The  story  of  Balaam  as  told  in 
Numbers  is  largely  poetic  rather  than  historical  (314  ff.,  340  f.). 

The  nucleus  of  history  underlying  JE  is  to  be  sought  with 
most  probability  in  the  association  of  the  Israelites  during 
the  nomadic  period  of  their  history  with  Kadesh,  and  the 
temporary  settlement,  though  possibly  only  of  a  part  of 
them,  East  of  Jordan  immediately  before  attempting  the  in- 
vasion of  Canaan.  How  much  that  is  related  of  the  actual 
marches  West  and  East  of  the  'Arabah  (Jordan-valley)  and  of 
the  relations  of  the  Israelites  with  the  Edomites,  Moabites, 
and  Amorites,  also  corresponds  to  facts  of  the  Mosaic  age  it 

*  Tab' era h  (11^"^),  Kibroth-hatta'avah  (named  from  the  lust  for  flesli, 
ji4-io.i3.ia-24a.3i-34j^  Eshcol  (i3=^^-)>  Hormah  (14^  2ii-3),  Beer  (2ii«-)- 


NUMBERS    AND    THE    RELIGION    OF    ISRAEL        xlvii 

is  more  difficult  to  determine  ;  the  questions  are  briefly  dis- 
cussed in  the  Commentary  (see  pp.  268,  272,  284,  300  f.,  303). 
§  16.  The  indirect  evidence  of  Numbers  as  to  periods 
later  than  the  Mosaic  bears  mainly  on  beliefs  and  religious 
practices.  These  will  be  considered  in  the  next  section.  But 
Numbers  is  also  comparatively  rich  in  the  amount  and  variety 
of  early  Hebrew  poetry  which  it  contains  ;  in  particular,  the 
value  of  the  obscure  fragment  cited  from  the  ''Book  of 
Yahweh's  Battles  "  and  of  the  *'  Song  of  the  Well,"  consists 
even  more  in  the  light  shed  on  the  modes  and  (in  the  refer- 
ence of  the  former  to  its  source)  on  the  extent  of  poetic 
expression  in  early  Israel  than  in  the  fragments  themselves, 
though  the  Song  of  the  Well,  a  perfect  specimen  of  its 
kind,  vividly  depicts  the  customs  and  feelings  of  the  people. 
So  again  the  passing  reference  to  the  "reciters  of  meshalwi''' 
or  "ballad-singers"  in  21-'^  is  the  only  extant  reference  to  a 
class  of  men  who  must  have  formed  a  conspicuous  and,  at 
times,  an  important  element  in  society  and  the  national  life 
under  the  early  monarchy  (p.  299).  The  historical  value  of 
the  poem  cited  in  2i27~2<'  would  be  greater  if  it  were  free 
from  ambiguity  (p,  300  f.). 

§  17.  Nzimhers  and  the  Religion  of  Israel. 

The  various  parts  of  Numbers  are  products  of  many 
generations  widely  separated  from  one  another  in  time,  and 
in  some  respects  sharply  distinguished  from  one  another  in 
the  matter  of  religious  belief  and  practice.  The  consequence 
is  that  Numbers  is  as  lacking  in  unity  of  religious  expression 
as  in  literary  unity.  It  is  therefore  impossible  to  sum- 
marise the  fundamental  ideas,  or  to  point  out  in  general 
terms  the  religious  value  of  the  book ;  for  these  are  different 
in  the  different  parts.  This  being  the  case,  much  that  might 
have  been  said  on  these  matters  in  an  introduction  to  another 
book,  is  in  the  present  work  more  naturally  distributed  over 
various  sections  of  the  Commentary.  But  the  value  of  the 
contribution  made  by  the  book  to  our  knowledge  and  under- 
standing of  the  religion  of  Israel  may  be  better  appreciated, 


xlviii  INTRODUCTION 

if  the  extent  to  which  the  main  features  of  religious  life  in 
various  periods  find  expression  in  it  is  here  briefly  indicated. 

(i)  Many  of  the  early  popular  beliefs  appear  in  the 
poems  and  the  narratives  of  J  and  E.  Israel  is  Yahweh's 
son  (this  thought  lies  behind  ii^^),  and  as  such  the  object  of 
His  perpetual  care  and  discipline.  This  may  be  said  to  be 
the  overruling-  religious  motive  of  the  whole  story  of  the 
Exodus,  the  journey  towards  Canaan,  and  the  wanderings 
as  told  in  the  9th  and  8th  cent.  B.C.  Yahweh's  care  for 
Israel  is  conspicuously  illustrated  by  the  episode  in  c.  22-24 
(PP-  5^5~3^7)>  ^"d  underlies  the  frequent  references  to  the 
goodly  land  which  He  has  promised  to  His  people,  and  to 
which  He  is  leading  them  (lo^^  ii^^  13^^  14'^-  24^^-).  It  is 
also  prominent  in  the  story  of  the  provision  of  flesh  (c.  11), 
though  here  the  disciplinary  manifestation  of  Yahweh's 
interest  in  Israel,  which  was  also  shown  at  Tab'erah  (ii^"^), 
is  most  emphasised.  Yahweh  marches  before  His  people 
(10^^),  fights  for  them  so  that  their  battles  are  His  battles 
(10^  21^*,  cp.  14^),  and  gives  them  victory  (21^"^). 

The  warmth  and  intensity  of  the  early  popular  feeling  for 
Yahweh  has  its  reverse  in  the  limitations  of  the  early  con- 
ceptions of  Him,  Yahweh  is  peculiarly  the  God  of  Israel : 
He  is  not  the  only  God  that  exists.  The  existence  and  power 
of  Kemosh  seemed  as  real  to  the  men  of  that  age  as  the 
existence  and  power  of  Yahweh;  Israel  is  "the  people  of 
Yahweh,"  Moab  "the  people  of  Kemosh";  and  as  Yahweh 
disciplines  Israel,  Kemosh  disciplines  Moab.  The  Ba'al  of 
Pe'or,  the  gods  of  the  Canaanites,  too,  are  regarded  as  real 
gods,  though  inferior  in  power  to  Yahweh,  and  not  to  be 
worshipped  in  Israel  (21^^  25^"^  14^).  A  particularly  antique 
conception,  which  a  later  writer  (Ps.  132^)  found  it  necessary 
to  modify,  as  another  (Jer.  48^*^)  modified  the  terms  of  21^^, 
appears  in  10^^,  where  the  ark,  as  the  visible  embodiment  of 
Yahweh,  moves  of  its  own  accord,  and  is  addressed  as 
Yahweh  (10^^"^^).  Elsewhere  the  manifestation  of  Yahweh 
in  human  form  under  the  name  of  the  "angel  of  Yahweh" 
^2222-35.  cp.  20^'')  and  in  or  as  the  theophanic  cloud  (ii^^ 
J  35. 10^  is  referred  to,  and  direct  vision  of  Yahweh  is  ascribed 


NUMBERS    AND    THE    RELIGION    OF    ISRAEL        xlix 

to  Moses  (i2^).  The  comparative  simplicity  of  worship  in 
the  age  to  which  the  stories  belong-  is  reflected  in  E's  view 
of  the  tent  when  contrasted  with  the  elaborate  ideal  of  P ; 
it  is  situated  outside  the  camp,  as  in  some  cases  the  shrines 
of  ancient  Israel  were  above  and  somewhat  away  from  the 
city  (i  S.  9^^~^^)>  and  thither  men  resort  to  it;  it  requires  the 
constant  presence  of  but  few  attendants  or  guardians. 

A  vivid  light  is  cast  on  some  of  the  religious  customs 
of  the  days  of  the  early  monarchy.  Many  must  have  been 
those  who  made  pilgrimage  to  the  bronze  serpent  (21*"®) 
down  to  the  time  of  its  destruction  by  Hezekiah.  Like 
famous  relics  of  other  ages  and  other  faiths  which  have 
been  treasured  and  credited  with  similar  virtues,  the  bronze 
serpent  must  have  raised,  and  sometimes  seemed  to  satisfy,  the 
hopes  of  many  generations  of  suffering  Israelites.  We  shall 
be  safe  in  detecting  another  feature  of  early  life  in  the  law 
of  5^^"^^,  though  in  its  present  form  this  law  may  be  no  older 
than  the  6th  century :  women  suspected  of  unchastity,  men,  as 
we  may  reasonably  infer,  resting  under  suspicion  of  various 
offences,  were  made  to  drink  specially  prepared  potions,  or 
undergo,  perhaps,  various  other  forms  of  ordeals ;  for  this 
purpose  in  early  times  they  probably  made  their  way  to  any 
one  of  the  places  specially  sacred  to  Yahweh.  The  conibma- 
tion  of  customs  in  the  law  of  the  Nazirite  (6^"2i)  is  late ;  but 
many  of  the  individual  customs,  such  as  the  practices  of 
making  offerings  of  hair,  and  submitting  to  certain  forms  of 
abstinence  during  the  period  of  a  vow,  are  early.  What 
amount  of  early  Israelite  custom  underlies  the  law  of  defile- 
ment from  the  dead  (c.  rg)  is  less  clear ;  but  the  wearing  of 
tassels  at  the  corners  of  the  garments  out  of  religious  or 
superstitious  feeling  (15^^"*^)  is  ancient.     See  also  p.  40. 

Not  the  least  important  of  the  features  of  early  Israelite 
religious  life  preserved  in  Numbers  is  the  character  of  Moses 
as  presented  in  the  stories  of  J  and  E.  The  influence  of  such 
an  ideal  is  not  to  be  overlooked  or  underestimated.  Thoroughly 
human,  subject  to  despondency  (ii^°~^^),  and  at  times  pro- 
voked by  the  people  (JE  in  2o^~^^),  Moses  is  yet  pre-eminently 
distinguished  by  his  submission  to  Yahweh  (12^);  by  his  trust 
d 


I  INTRODUCTION 

in  (io^^"^2),  his  intimacy  with,  and  his  faithfulness  to  Him 
(i2^^)  ;  by  his  affection  for  his  people,  which  leads  him  again 
and  again,  even  when  the  people  provoke  him  by  their 
rebelliousness,  to  intercede  with  Yahweh  on  their  behalf 
(i  i^-  i<>-i5  2i7)  J  by  his  generosity  and  public  spirit  (c.  12.  i  i^^-ss). 

In  1 1 16. 17a.  24b-30  ^j^^j  j2  Moscs  appears  as  the  ideal  and, 
indeed,  the  exceptional  and  unique  prophet,  or  man  of 
Yahweh's  counsel.  These  passages,  together  with  c.  22-24, 
form  a  not  unimportant  contribution  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
early  Hebrew  theory  of  prophecy.  The  first  is  a  parallel  to 
the  stories  in  Samuel  of  the  prophetic  frenzy  that  followed  the 
possession  of  a  man  by  the  spirit  of  Yahweh ;  but  in  the 
second  Moses  is  distinguished  as  the  man  who  receives  the 
communication  of  Yahweh's  will  directly,  and  not  like  other 
prophets  in  dream  or  vision.  Obviously  no  member  of  the 
prophetic  school  could  distinguish  Moses  from  prophets  like 
Amos  or  Isaiah  in  this  way :  either,  therefore,  Moses  is  here 
the  representative  of  the  type  of  the  great  prophets  of  the 
Sth  century  B.C.,  or  the  passage  was  written  before  the  time 
of  Amos,  and  would  in  this  case  be  proof  that  the  ideal 
existed,  though  no  living  prophets  satisfied  it.  C.  22-24  ^^ 
important  as  evidence  of  the  belief  that  even  prophets  of 
other  nations  might  receive  communications  from  Yahweh. 
Incidentally  16^^  illustrates  the  early  existence  of  a  mode  of 
distinction  between  the  true  and  the  false  prophet  which 
frequently  appears  later  (Jer.  23^^-21,  Ezek.  13^):  the  true 
prophet  comes  because  he  is  sent  by  Yahweh,  and  says  and 
does  what  Yahweh  directs  (cp.  also  22^^-  ^°) ;  the  false  prophet 
comes  unsent,  and  delivers  a  message  of  his  own  making. 

Seventh  century. — In  the  long  editorial  passage  \^'^~'^^^ 
which  is  referred  to  this  period,  the  Exodus  is  regarded  par- 
ticularly as  a  manifestation  of  Yahweh's  might,  and  the 
problem  presented,  especially  to  Ezekiel,  by  the  certain 
approach,  or  the  actual  endurance,  of  exile  and  the  consequent 
destruction  of  national  life,  here  appears  in  Moses'  argument 
with  Yahweh :  how  can  Yahweh,  if  He  must,  in  order  to 
satisfy  His  moral  nature,  actually  destroy  Israel,  maintain 
among   the   nations  of  the  world   a   reputation   for   power? 


NUMBERS    AND    THE    RELIGION    OF    ISRAEL  li 

Possibly  another  product  of  the  relig^ious  feelingf  of  this  period 
may  be  found  in  the  Priests'  Blessing-  (pp.  71-74). 

Post-exilic  period. — The  writing's  of  the  priestly  school, 
from  which  the  g^reater  part  of  Numbers  is  derived,  are  in  part 
the  expression,  in  part  also  the  cause,  of  the  religious  life  of 
the  post-exilic  community.  The  hierocratic  organisation  of 
that  society  is  reflected  in  the  description  of  the  arrangement 
of  the  camp  (c.  1-4.  17  f.),  in  the  story  of  Korah  (c.  16),  in  the 
subordination  of  the  secular  leader  Joshua  to  the  hig-h  priest 
Ele'azar  (27^^'22),  and  in  much  else  that  relates  to  the  priests 
and  Levites.  For  the  support  of  the  sacred  classes  (c.  18, 
pp.  236-241)  novel  or  heavier  claims  are  made  on  the  people, 
and  much  that  formerly  went  in  relief  of  needy  classes  is 
wholly  reserved  for  the  now  highly  org-anised  and  dominant 
hierocracy.  Somewhat  obscurely  it  is  possible  to  trace  modifi- 
cations of  practice  and  sentiment  which  must  have  occurred, 
though  at  what  exact  times  it  is  impossible  to  say,  within 
the  sacred  classes  during  the  period  extending  from  the  6th 
to  the"4th  centuries  B.C.  Such  changes  maybe  observed  in  the 
age  of  Levitical  service  (p.  32),  and  in  the  esteem  in  which 
the  lower  sacred  class,  the  Levites,  were  held  (pp.  21  ff.,  192  f.). 

The  thought  of  Yahweh  which  is  most  prominent  is  His 
holiness  or  unapproachableness  :  the  place  of  His  presence  is 
ringed  off  from  the  secular  Hebrews  by  the  sacred  cordon  of 
priests  and  Levites  :  men  approach  Him  at  their  peril  (i*^. so 
^10  jy2Sf.  (i2f.)  etc.),  and  only  by  means  of  special  classes  of 
intermediaries  and  in  a  specially  defined  manner.  The  spon- 
taneity of  religious  life  which  so  strongly  coloured  the  earlier 
time  is  lost ;  another  illustration  which  the  book  affords  of 
this  is  the  precise  regulation  of  quantities  which  men  must 
bring'  when  they  make  an  offering'  to  Yahweh  (c.  28  f.  15^"^^ 
(p.  407)).  Antique  notions  of  holiness  (p.  209-211)  are  un- 
consciously retained,  probably  because  they  tended  to  preserve 
and  increase  the  awe  of  Yahweh,  and  in  some  passages  such 
notions  are  developed  with  much  elaboration  of  detail  (4^^). 
Incidentally  *  the  question  of  Yahweh's  relation  to  sin  emerges 

*  Directly   P   concerns   himself    little   with    such   questions ;    Driver, 
L.O.T.  129, 


lii  INTRODUCTION 

as  it  presented  itself  to  the  Jews  from  the  time  of  Ezekiel 
onwards  (i6--). 

Ancient  customs,  which  retained  too  great  a  hold  on  the 
mass  of  the  people  to  be  entirely  suppressed,  were  g^radually 
modified  and  supplied  by  the  priests  with  new  and  more  suit- 
able interpretations,  and  in  this  way  acquired  an  even  pro- 
long-ed  lease  of  life  (see  p.  47  f.) 


COMMENTARY, 


I.   i.-X.  lo  (P).    The  Wilderness  of  Sinai. 

The  first  section  of  the  book  covers  the  last  nineteen  days 
spent  by  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai  (i^  lo^^). 
Exactly  a  month  before  the  date  given  in  i^,  the  tabernacle 
had  been  completed  and  set  up  (Ex.  40^- 1'^).  The  intervening- 
month  had  been  occupied  with  the  consecration  of  the  priests 
— Aaron  and  his  sons — to  the  service  of  the  altar  (Lev.  8),  and 
with  the  revelation  or  communication  of  various  laws,  most 
of  which,  more  or  less  directly,  concerned  the  priests  (Lev. 
passim)  :  to  the  same  interval  two  retrospective  passages  in 
the  present  section  (Nu.  7.  9^"^*)  refer  the  offerings  of  the 
princes  to  the  tabernacle  and  the  communication  of  the  law  of 
the  supplementary  Passover. 

The  tabernacle  once  erected  was  to  form  the  centre  of  the 
camp,  and  the  priesthood  once  instituted  demanded  servants  ; 
hence  the  erection  of  the  tabernacle  (Ex.  25-31.  35-40)  and  the 
organisation  of  the  priesthood  (Lev.)  is  now  followed  by  the 
establishment  of  a  fixed  camp  order  and  the  definition  of 
the  functions  of  the  priests'  servants,  the  Levites,  with  whom, 
in  spite  of  its  title,  the  Book  of  Leviticus  is,  except  in  252-^- 
(P^),  wholly  unconcerned.  With  these  two  subjects — the 
functions  of  the  Levites  and  the  arrangement  of  the  camp — 
1-4.  8^"^^  is  concerned.  But  5  f.  8^~*  consists  of  various  laws 
which,  apart  from  5^"^,  have  no  connection  whatsoever  with 
either  of  the  subjects  just  mentioned ;  while  7  and  9^"^*  are 
referred  to  a  date  anterior  to  that  of  i^.  Then  9^^-10^*^,  de- 
scribing the  customary  movement  of  the  cloud  and  the  trumpets 
I 


2  NUMBERS 

to  be  used  in  connection  with  the  march,  forms  a  suitable 
transition  to  the  next  section  of  the  book,  which  opens  with 
the  departure  from  Sinai  (lo^^^-). 

For  the  history  of  the  Mosaic  age  the  whole  section  is 
valueless :  see  Introduction. 

It  is  agreed  *  that  the  whole  section  is  derived  from  P. 
Language,  style,  subject,  and  connections  with  other  parts  of 
this  work  place  so  much  beyond  doubt.  But  the  distribution 
of  the  material  among  the  various  strata  of  P  is  attended  with 
difficulty.  For  details,  see  the  analytical  notes  prefixed  to  the 
several  subsections. 

I. -IV.   The  Census,      The  Arrange7nent  of  the  Caiiip.     The 
Finictions  of  Levi. 

These  subjects,  as  indicated  above,  are  very  naturally  intro- 
duced at  the  point  now  reached  in  P,  and,  it  may  be  reasonably 
assumed,  were  dealt  with  in  P^.  But  it  is  unlikely  that  these  four 
chapters  in  their  present  form  are  the  work  of  a  single  hand. 
They  contain  much  repetition  ;  the  order  in  some  places  is  sus- 
picious ;  and  there  are  other  indications  that  an  original  narra- 
tive has  been  recast,  amplified,  and  modified  by  later  writers. 

(i)  Repetitions,  i^'-  may  contain  two  statements  of  the  total  (obscured 
in  RV.).  The  entire  substance  of  i"-43  (recurring-  formula  and  numbers 
of  the  tribes)  is  repeated  in  z^-  ^-  ^-  "•  i^- 1^-  is-  21-  23. 26.  28. 30^  ^nd  that  of  i^-is 

jj^     23- 5b.  Vb.  lOb.  12b.  14b.  18b.  20b.  22b.  25b.  S7b.  29b  .     ^^      2^.%0    I-""*^    With     2^^^-.        The 

subscription  in  2^^  disregfards  the  matter  common  to  c.  i  and  2.  C.  3  f.  is 
in  part  briefly  anticipated  by  i^s-ss .  further,  -f^-  "s*-  ^^'-  is  repeated  in  4^'i*- 
(greatly  amplified)  -"'■■-''•  '^"•,  i.e.  4^"''  contains  nothing  new  in  substance 
beyond  the  command  to  number  the  Levites  between  thirty  and  fifty 
years  of  age,  and  the  instruction  that  the  priests  are  to  cover  up  the 
objects  intrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Kohathites  before  the  latter  touch  them. 
The  mere  presence  of  repetitions  might  be  explained  as  due  to  P's  diffuse- 
ness.  But  (2)  the  order  in  which  the  material  is  arranged  is  very  curious. 
Thus  the  command  not  to  number  the  Levites  (i^^)  among  the  other  tribes 
comes  oddly  after  the  other  tribes  have  been  numbered,  and  details  of  the 
census  have  been  given.  In  c.  3  we  have  (apparent!}')  a  series  of  state- 
ments (v. 21'-  ^'''  22*')  interrupted  by  a  series  of  commands  (v.^^"-^-  '^^''^•-  ^^"^*) ; 
for  v.^^''  can  only  be  taken  as  a  command,  and  naturally  determines  the 
imperfects  in  the  preceding  verses.  The  difficulty  in  this  case  could  be 
overcome,  of  course,  by  omitting  v.^^''.  But  inversely  the  same  thing 
happens  in  c.  2,  e.g.  v.^  command,  v.*''-  ^  statement,  and  so  throughout 

*  Nold.,  Kays.,  Di.,  We.,  Kue.,  Corn.,  Dr.,  Str. 


I- 1  3 

the  chapter.  (3)  Definite  indications  of  P'  are  to  be  found  in  3'-  -'•  ^'-  ^"^ 
^11.16.26.32.  ggg  Introduction,  §11.  In  c.  4  CH.  draw  attention  to  a 
number  of  "small  divergences  from  the  phraseology  of  other  parts  of 
P  "  :  see  also  below,  the  notes  on  4^"''  ^^*  ^^-  ^*. 

Of  the  substance  as  apart  from  the  form  of  this  section,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  assign  much  to  P^ ;  one  of  the  two  Levitical  censuses  may 
be  his ;  he  may  have  supplied  4*^-*8  to  fill  up  the  lack  of  statistics  as  to 
aduli  Levites ;  or,  if  the  view  that  the  Levites  were  substitutes  for  the 
firstborn  be  rightly  derived  from  H  (3""^*  n.),  we  may  suppose  that 
Ps  supplied  the  census  in  c.  3  in  illustration  of  the  view  of  H  incorporated 
by  Rp.  But  attempts  at  a  detailed  distribution  of  the  chapters  among  two 
or  more  hands  are  for  the  most  part  inconclusive. 

If  we  are  right  in  concluding  that  P=  recast  Ps's  matter,  he  m.ay  have 
been  led  to  the  present  arrangement,  especially  of  1^-3^'',  by  the  desire  to 
act  in  the  spirit  of  i^'  2^^,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  to  keep  the  accounts  of 
the  Levites  and  the  secular  tribes  separate.  Thus,  at  present,  c.  i  f.  deals 
with  the  secular  tribes,  3^"*'  with  the  Levites.  But  the  more  natural 
arrangement  in  dealing  with  the  camp  order  would  have  been  to  bring 
together  the  statements  as  to  the  positions  of  the  several  tribes,  Levites 
and  secular,  the  Levitical  positions  being  defined  first.  The  order  of  treat- 
ment in  P^  may  rather  have  been  something  as  follows  : — i.  The  separa- 
tion and  functions  of  Levi:  this  in  immediate  sequence  to  the  separation 
and  functions  of  the  priesthood  (Ex.  Lev.).  2.  The  census  :  a.  the  appoint- 
ment of  princes  ;  b.  the  numbers  of  the  secular  tribes  ;  c.  the  numbers  of 
the  Levites.  3.  The  camp  order :  a.  general  statement — the  central 
position  of  the  tabernacle ;  b.  the  positions  01  the  Levites — immediately 
round  the  tabernacle  ;  c,  the  positions  of  the  tribes— outside  the  Levites. 

Anticipatory  references  to  the  census  are  found  in  Ex.  30^- 
38^6  (P^). 

I.  1-20.  The  appointment  of  twelve  eminent  men,  each 
representing  his  tribe,  to  assist  Moses  and  Aaron  in  taking 
the  census. — 1.  T/ie  wilderness  of  Sinai  (TD  "laiJO  v.^^  3*-  ^'^  9^-  ^ 
jq12  256i23i5f-j  Ex.  19^^',  Lev.  y^^f — all  in  P)  is,  according-  to  the 
last  editor  of  the  Pentateuch,  the  scene  of  everything-  recorded 
between  Ex.  19^  and  Nu.  10^^;  also  of  lo-^"^-  (cp.  ^^). — In  the 
tent  of  7neeting\  the  tent  of  meeting  (nvvo  pns)  is  the  term  most 
frequently  (131  times)  used  in  P  to  denote  the  sacred  dwelling ; 
it  is  also  used  in  (J)E  (11^^,  Ex.  33'^,  Dt.  31^*),  and  may  well 
have  been  current  for  an  indefinitely  long  period  before  its 
earliest  occurrence  in  Hebrew  literature.  It  has  been  con- 
jectured by  Zimmern  *  that  its  original  meaning  was  the  tent 

*  Beit  rage  zur  Kenntniss  d.  bob.  Relig.  88  n.  2  ;  so  Haupt  in  JBLit. 
xix.  pp.  58,  70  (Assyr.  addnu=  proper  time  ;  and  it  was  one  of  the  functions 
of  the  Babylonian  diviners  to  ascertain  this). 


4  NUMBERS 

where  the  proper  time  for  an  undertaking-  was  determined. 
But  the  sense  attached  to  the  phrase  by  the  bibhcal  writers 
is  clearly  different ;  according  to  P,  it  is  the  place  where 
Yahweh  -meets  Moses  to  communicate  to  him  His  will  (7^^,  Ex. 
25--);  and  it  meant  much  the  same  to  E  (Ex.  33^"^^).  "Tent 
of  meeting"  or  "tent  of  revelation"  is  therefore  a  suitable 
English  equivalent. — Generally  speaking-,  after  as  well  as 
before  the  erection  of  the  tent  of  meeting,  a  divine  command 
is  introduced  by  a  simple  formula,  such  as  "And  Yahweh 
spoke  unto  Moses,  saying" — ;  sometimes  a  clause  defining-  the 
geographical  situation  is  added,  as  here  and  in  Ex.  12^  Lev. 
25^  (26^^  27^^),  Nu.  3^*  9^  35^  (3^) ;  but  it  is  altogether  excep- 
tional also  to  add,  as  here,  "in  the  tent  of  meeting-,"  though 
the  fact,  in  the  light  of  Ex.  25^^,  must  be  tacitly  understood. 
The  nearest  parallel  to  the  present  case  is  Lev.  1^;  but  that 
passage  embodies  a  different  conception.  According-  to  the 
present  passage,  Ex.  25^^  and  Nu,  7^^,  Moses  was  inside  the 
tent  when  he  received  revelations ;  according  to  Lev.  i^,  Ex. 
29*2  (cp.  Ex.  40^*'-,  Ezek.  43^^-),  outside.  The  latter  passages 
may  be  referred  to  P^  Yet  another  conception  occurs  in  E  : 
see  12^  n. — 2.  Take  ye\  i.e.  Moses  and  Aaron:  cp.  v.^  and 
the  plural  pronouns  in  v.^-.  ffii^  and  S  read — "Take  thou"; 
cp.  the  address  in  v.^  (to  Moses  only)  and  the  sing-,  in  v.^^, 
Ex.  30^^^-.  The  introduction  of  Aaron's  name  and  the  plural 
pronouns  may  be  the  work  of  an  editor :  cp.  notes  on  3^-  ^^ 
9^. — All  the  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel]  here  (cp. 
v.*'^*^-),  as  in  8^-  -*^,  exclusive  of  the  Levites :  generally,  of 
course,  the  phrase  includes  them,  e.g.  14'^  25^  27^0. — By  their 
families,  etc.]  the  census  is  to  be  taken  clan  by  clan  (nnstJ'D?) 
and  family  by  family  (Qn3X  ri''2^),  but  is  to  have  as  its  ultimate 
aim  the  number  of  all  male  individuals ;  similarly,  the  indi- 
vidual is  reached  through  the  family  In  casting  lots  (Jos.  7^^'* 
(J)).  The  numbering  by  families  and  by  "hosts"  (v.^)  is 
compatible :  for  the  hosts  were  constituted  according-  to 
tribes  (c.  2). — The  precise  sense  with  which  the  two  terms 
^^DI^'D  and  ax  rr'H  (in  the  reverse  order,  3^^n.)  are  employed 
varies.  In  strict  usage  they  are  related  to  one  another  thus: 
All  Israel  consists  of  a  number  of  tribes  (C25J':   in  P  ilDD),  a 


I.  2-4  5 

tribe  of  several  clans  (^^SE^'f:)),  a  clan  of  several  "houses" 
{n^2,  or  3J^  T]^2,  pi.  riUN  ri''3),  a  "  house"  of  a  number  of  indi- 
viduals— ^Jos.  7^^  (JE))  I  S.  lo^i,  Jud.  6^^.  It  is  quite  excep- 
tional for  the  u^idest  term  "tribe"  to  be  used  in  a  more 
restricted  sense  (cp.  4^^  n.)  ;  on  the  other  hand,  "the 
(father's)  house"  is  used  at  times  of  the  tribes  (e.£:  17^'^^^^) 
or  the  clan  {e.£:  i  Ch.  24*'),  and  the  "clan"  of  a  people  or 
nation  (Am.  3^).  In  the  Mishna  2X  TT'a  is  used  specifically  of 
a  subdivision  of  the  priests.*  The  term  may  be  of  Canaanite 
origin ;  for  di^fi  a-hi-ia  occurs  in  the  Tel-el-Amarna  tablets 
(127^^),  thoug-h  w^hether  in  the  sense  of  family  or  not  seems 
doubtful  (cp.  Winckler's  translation).  Unless  the  two  terms 
here  and  in  similar  cases  are  employed  merely  for  fulness  of 
expression  without  any  precise  distinction  being-  intended, 
the  nnDt:^?J  will  be  the  larger,  the  ax  JT'n  the  smaller  unit. — 
The  names\  i.e.  the  individuals;  so  in  26^'^-^^,  i  Ch.  23^*: 
cp.  the  use  of  ovoixara  in  Acts  i^^,  Rev.  3*  11^^.  According 
to  a  widespread  mode  of  thought  (cf.  Frazer,  GB.  i.  403  f.), 
the  name  is  an  integral  part  of  the  person,  and  might  therefore 
as  suitably  denote  the  individual  as,  e.g.,  the  soul,  which  is 
elsewhere  commonly  used  in  P  for  this  purpose. — By  their 
polls\  poll,  or  rather  skull  (npjpJ),  in  the  sense  of  person  or 
individual,  is  confined  to  P  and  Ch.  (cf.  v.^^-^'^-^^  3*^,  Ex. 
16I6  3826,  J  Ch.  233-241 :  ct.  Jud.  5^*^).— 3.  Ye  shall  number 
them  by  their  hosts,  thou  and  Aaron]  such  is  the  Heb.  order; 
S  S  have  the  verb  in  the  sing,  and  so  the  original  text  may 
have  run,  "thou  and  Aaron"  being  an  editorial  addition  (cp. 
first  note  on  v.^). — 4.  The  tribal  representative  must  in  each 
case  be  the  chief  man  (ti'Xi)  in  the  families  which  he  repre- 
sents (cp.  v.*'^). 

2.  tfNi  riN  INK"]  the  same  phrase  (  =  "  calculate  the  total  ")  also  v.*^  ^^--^ 
26^  31^®'  ''^t  (most  or  all  P^) ;  B'ixn=  "  total,"  appears  to  be  a  late  usage  :  see 
S'',  Lev.  S"'*,  Ps.  1 19'''''  139".  Pr.  8-^(?). — '«!"  '33  mv  hj]  the  regfular  term  for  the 
whole  body  of  the  Israelites  in  P  is  riiiin  or  nina  '?d  (some  70  or  80  times)  ; 
it  never  occurs  in  JE  or  D,  and  only,  indeed,  where  the  influence  of  P  may 
be  probably  traced — Dr.  L.O.T.  133  (No.  32).  Of  the  fuller  phrases  used, 
the  present  is  the  most  frequent  (21  times) :  others  are  'w  'J3  T\r\V  i*'  19* 

*  Cf.  on  the  whole  subject,  W.  R.  Smith,  Rel.  Sem.^  276;  Nowack, 
i.  300;  Benzing-er,  292-294;  Levy's  NHB.  i.  ii5«,  iii.  284^. 


6  NUMBERS 

31^^  Lev.  i6'  (and  S  here) ;  V  my  hnp  h^  14^,  Ex.  12'  ;  'c  my  '73  Ex.  i23-  ^^ 
Lev.  4!^  Jos.  22'8-"-»,  I  K.  85  =  2  Ch.  5« ;  'e"  my  16^  32*,  Ex.  i2i9; 
'"'  my  ^3  Jos.  22'^  ;  '"'  my  27"  31^^  Jos.  22^''. — 3.  t«as  «i']  the  antithetical 
phrase  occurs  in  31"  nnn'^Dn  k3sd  D'xan  ;  the  pi.  of  the  present  phrase 
's  'KS'  in  I  Ch.  5^^  7^^,  whence  it  is  clear  that  X3S  is  an  explicative  g'en. 
(Dav.  24c?;  G.-K.  128.1;).  Variant  forms  of  the  phrase  are  N3s3  ns'  31^'^, 
Dt.  24^ ;  '^'7 ''  31^  :  cp.  X3S  'si^n  and  's"?  p'^nn  in  i  Ch.  i2^**^^ — i.  nao  occurs 
162  times  in  P  ;  ^2c,  the  regular  word  in  JE  D,  very  seldom  (cp.  4^^n.), 
and  even  then,  perhaps,  as  a  result  of  editorial  activity  (cp.  18'^  n.)  ;  Dr. 
L.O.T.  134  (No.  45)  ;  CH.  165^,  ii2'>. 

5-15.  The  twenty-four  persons  here  named  are  mentioned 
also  in  2^^-  7^^-  lo^**^- ;  but,  with  the  probable  exception  of 
Nahshon  and  'Amminadab  (cp.  Ru.  4^**),  never  again.  Several 
of  the  names  are  unquestionably  ancient,  but  the  lisi  is 
certainly  unhistorical. 

Much  has  been  said  in  defence  of  the  antiquity  of  this  list  which  is  not 
to  the  point.  It  would  be  insufficient  proof  even  if  it  could  be  shown  (and 
it  certainly  cannot)  that  every  individual  name  in  it  was  ancient ;  for  a  late 
compiler  might  select  only  ancient  names  in  composing-  a  fictitious  list. 
This  is  obvious  :  but  it  has  been  frequently  overlooked.  The  actual  facts 
relative  to  the  list  are  these,  (i)  Several  (7)  of  the  individual  names  are 
known  to  have  been  in  early  use  (i.e.  in  or  before  the  time  of  David),  or 
belong  to  types  which  were  frequent  in  early,  but  had  become  obsolete  by 
post-exilic,  times :  these  names  are  aii'oy,  ni.Tsy  (on  ncoy  see  below), 
p'3N,  iiynx,  yrnx,  nx-'^x,  yct^'^x;  further,  ^d^'jx  is  of  a  formation  less 
frequently  used  in  later  times.  (2)  Five  of  the  names  are  of  types 
unknown  to  any  OT.  author  except  P,  and  three  are  without  any  well- 
established  analogy  among  Semitic  names.  These  are  the  names  com- 
pounded with  na  (nixnc,  ne-nis,  na-'cy)  and  ms  (nz'm:i,  nis'"?}*,  and  misms). 
The  only  other  name  of  either  type  in  OT.  is  "jN'ms  in  3''  (P).  Among 
other  Semitic  peoples  we  find  the  Sab^ean  Silri-'addana  in  an  inscription 
said  to  be  of  the  8th  cent.  B.C.  or  somewhat  earlier  (Hommel,  Ancient 
Ileb.  Trad,  p.  320),  and  mina  in  a  Zinjirli  inscription  of  the  8th  cent.  B.C. 
(Panammu  Inscr.  1.  i) :  possibly  we  should  add  the  OT.  place  name  msn'a. 
Compounds  with  nB*  have  not  yet  been  proved  to  exist  apart  from  the 
names  in  this  section.  Hommel's  attempt  to  find  a  parallel  in  the  name 
of  a  Babylonian  king  {c.  2000  B.C.)  rests  on  an  uncertain  transliteration, 
and  other  hazardous  philological  hypotheses.  The  most  that  can  at 
present  be  safely  said  in  favour  of  the  antiquity  of  these  names  is  that  one 
of  them  is  compounded  with  'Dy.  (3)  Snjhj  and  '^x^'jaj  are  unknown  to 
the  pre-exilic  writings  of  OT.,  but  the  former  is  frequent  in  the  later 
OT.,  and  both  are  frequent  in  the  post-biblical  literature.  (4)  The 
proportion  of  compounds  with  h»  to  the  whole  number  of  names  is 
large  (9  out  of  24).  Nothing  like  this  can  be  found  in  early  lists  or 
documents  ;  contrast  these  proportions,  i  out  of  28  in  Jud.  2^-16  ;  2  out 
of  45  in  2  S.  9-20;  9  out  of  87  in  Jeremiah  ;  compare,  on  the  other  hand, 


I.  5-7  7 

5  out  of  17  in  Ezr.  lo^^'^-,  and  (in  a  list  of  angels)  13  out  of  20  in  Enoch 

6  (Greek  text,  ed.  Charles,  p.  64).  (5)  The  proportion  of  compounded 
to  uncompounded  names  (18  out  of  24)  is  also  very  large  :  this  again  can 
only  be  paralleled  in  later  times.  (6)  The  number  of  names  in  which  'j.x  is 
postfixed  (5)  is  greater  than  those  in  which  it  is  prefixed  (4).  This  is  very 
characteristic  of  post-exilic  names,  but  the  reverse  is  the  case  with  the  ear- 
liest Hebrew  names.  Moreover,  the  tendency  to  postfix  rather  than  prefix 
a  divine  element  in  compound  proper  names  appears  to  be  a  mark  of  the 
later  periods  of  other  Semitic  languages  (cp.  Hommel,  op,  cit.  pp.  74,  83  f , 
85  f ).  (7)  The  prefixing  of  the  pf.  tense  to  the  divine  element  in  miirns,  '?N:nj 
(as  against  one  instance  of  the  reverse — f|D'^N)  is  noticeable.  This  also  is 
rare  in  early,  usual  in  later  names.  The  last  five  characteristics  of  the 
list  thus  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  it  does  not  rest  directly  and  entirely  on 
an  ancient  document ;  with  this  conclusion  neither  the  first  nor  the  second 

,  characteristics  in  any  way  conflict.  It  is  quite  possible  that  some  of  the 
names  are  drawn  from  a  lost  source,  as  two  of  them  appear  to  have  been 
drawn  from  a  source  of  which,  even  if  it  does  not  actually  exist,  we  yet 
have  other  indirect  evidence  (Ru.  4-*).  Among  such  names  the  com- 
pounds with  nii:  and  "iss'  possibly  ought  to  be  reckoned.  But  to  a  very 
considerable  extent  the  list  must  have  been  compiled  at  a  relatively  late 
period  by  a  studied  selection  from  ancient  and  modern  names.  For 
further  details  see  HPN.  pp.  191-211,  and  The  Character  of  the  Proper 
Names  in  the  Priestly  Code:  a  reply  to  Prof.  Hommel  {Exp.,  Sept.  1897, 
pp.  173-190).  Hommel's  Ancient  Hebrew  Tradition  (esp.  c.  iii.)  contains 
much  that  is  of  interest  on  the  individual  names,  but  for  reasons  just 
indicated  breaks  down  as  a  defence  of  the  antiquity  of  this  and  similar 
narratives. 

5.  Eh'sur]  "God  is  a  rock,"  or,  '*  My  God  ,  .  .,"  and  so  in 
similar  cases  :  HPN.  84-86,  75  n.  2 — Shedeur\  **  Shaddai  is  a 
light "  ;  the  meaning-  and  punctuation  of  *'  Shaddai  "  are  alike 
obscure,  but  it  is  obviously  reasonable  to  punctuate  and  inter- 
pret it  in  the  same  way  in  all  the  compounds. — 6.  Shehimi' el\ 
Both  the  punctuation  and  interpretation  are  uncertain.  MT 
punctuates  the  first  element  as  a  passive  part.,  u^hich  gives  a 
name  of  rare  and  late  formation  [HPN.  200  f.),  vi^ith  some  such 
meaning  as  "at  peace  with  God  "  ;  Hommel  {AHT.  200),  **  my 
friend  is  God."  ffi  (also  in  34^*^)  suggests  the  far  commoner,  but 
also  predominantly  late,  formation  with  a  pf.  prefixed  to  the 
divine  element ;  the  meaning  would  then  be  "  God  is  friendly  or 
conciliated,"  but  cp.  the  abbreviated  Shelomi  34^''!  (P).  The 
genealogy  of  Judith  (8^)  is  carried  back  to  this  Shelumiel  or 
Shelamiel. — Suris]iaddai\  "a  rock  is  Shaddai." — 7.  Nalishon  ilie 
S071  of  ' Amininadab\  cp.  Ru.  4^'^.  Nahshon  is  probably  con- 
nected with  Nahash  (also  found  as  a  proper  name),   meaning 


O  NUMBERS 

"serpent."  'Amminadab  =  "the  (divine)  kinsman  is  g-enerous." 
— 8.  Nethan!el\  "God  hath  given " ;  the  name  also  of  nine 
different  persons  mentioned  in  Ch.,  Ezr.,  Neh. ;  and  one  in 
NT.,  Jn.  i'*^. — 9.  Elfab]  "God  is  Father";  for  other  persons 
of  the  same  name,  see  16^'^  (J),  i  S.  i6^\ — 10.  Of  the  children 
of  Joseph^  by  selecting-  a  man  from  each  of  the  subdivisions 
of  this  tribe,  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  the  number  twelve  is 
maintained  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Levi  is  not  included  in 
this  census,  and,  therefore,  furnishes  no  assessor. — Elisha7nd\ 
"  God  has  heard  "  ;  for  other  Elishama's,  see  2  S.  5^*^,  Jer.  36^^, 
2  Ch.  17^. —  Aminih7id\  "  the  kinsman  is  glorious  "  ;  for  others 
of  this  name,  see  2  S.  13^'^,  Nu.  2,^^^'  ^^>  i  Ch.  9*.  The  reading 
in  2  S.  13^^  is  uncertain  [al.  'Ammihur) ;  but  in  view  of  the 
general  history  of  compounds  with  'Ammi  {HPN.  pp.  47  ff., 
245)  the  name  in  any  case  is  probably  ancient. — GamaW el\ 
"God  is  a  (my)  reward";  the  name  also  of  many  Rabbis  of 
the  first  and  following  centuries  a,d.  ;  see,  e.g..,  Acts  5^*,  Pirke 
'Abhoth  i^*^  2^. — Pedahsur\  "the  rock  has  I'edeemed "  ;  prob- 
ably a  name  of  comparatively  late  origin,  to  which  the  forma- 
tion and  the  use  of  the  root  ms  in  names  point  {HPN.  196, 
199). — 11.  Abidan\  "the  (divine)  father  has  judged." — 12. 
Ahieser\  "  the  (divine)  brother  is  a  help  "  ;  another  Ahi'ezer  is 
mentioned  in  i  Ch.  12^;  cp.  the  parallel  and  early  name 
Eli'ezer. — ' Ammi-shaddai\  if  this  be  a  genuine  early  name  it 
will  mean  "  a  kinsman  is  Shaddai "  ;  but  if  it  be  a  late  and 
artificial  creation,  it  was  probably  intended  to  mean  "people 
of  the  Almighty." — 13.  Pagiel\  the  first  element  of  the  word  is 
uncertain  ;  possibly  the  name  means  the  "lot  or  fate  of  {i.e. 
given  by)  God  "  (cp.  WD  in  Eccl.  9^^),  or  "  the  mark  (or  target) 
of  God"  (cp.  Wa?3  in  Job  720)._14.  Eliasaph]  "God  has  added"; 
another  person  of  the  same  name  in  3-*  (P). — Deuel]  form  and 
meaning  of  the  first  element  is  uncertain. 

7.  pETi:]  the  philologically  younger  ending-  ["i-  occurs  here  and  in  v.^  (MT.), 
the  older  form  [^r-  in  v.^^*  ^*  ;  the  latter  is  common  in  Arabic,  and  also  occurs 
in  several  Hebrew  names ;  cp.  Barth,  NB.  §  193-195. — 14.  hiov]  fir  S  here 
and  elsewhere  "jnij;!  ;  so  some  MS.  of  JiJ  in  2^'' ;  "jNiyi  is  given  as  an  Edom- 
ite  and  Midianite  name  (Gn.  36^,    Ex.    2'*) ;  in   later  Heb.   cp.   Tob.  3', 

Enoch  20*.      Reuel,  perhaps=  "God  is  a  friend,"  though  (5's  7=y=  C    does 


1. 8-19  9 

not  favour  this.  With  Sni^t  cp.  niiihi(  and  Uj=to  call. — vthn]  "thy 
brother  is  evil" — BDB.  :  obvious,  but  most  improbable  :  some  detect  in  v 
the  Egyptian  deity  Ra,  as  Horus  in  mncN,  ns::n,  nin:  cp.  £Bi.  i.  loi,  333, 
1966,  2134:  others  j;i=" friend"  :  cp.  hKiiii  and  preceding  n. 

16.  These  are  the  elect  of  the  congregation,  princes  of  their 
ancestral  tribes,  heads  of  the  thousands  of  Israel]  the  twelve 
assessors  are  men  of  already  established  rank.  If  the  term  fibs', 
rendered  "thousands,"  be  taken  literally,  the  assessors  are 
heads  of  the  largest  divisions  into  which  the  people  were 
ordinarily  divided  for  judicial  (Ex.  i8-^~-^  E)  or  military 
(2  S.  18^)  purposes.  But  the  term  also  means  a  "division  of 
a  tribe";  if  it  has  that  sense  here,  it  corresponds  to  "  fathers' 
house  "  in  v.*,  just  as  it  corresponds  to  clan  [r\nz^'d)  in  i  S. 
jq19-21^  Like  other  similar  terms  in  Hebrew  and  Arabic,  it  is 
used  sometimes  of  larger,  sometimes  of  smaller  divisions  of 
the  tribe  :  cp.  n.  on  v.^  above  ;  and  for  Arabic  usages,  Noldeke 
in  ZDMG.  1886,  p.  175  f.  —  17.  Expressed  by  name]  13p3 
rmifl  Ezr.  320,  I  Ch.  1232  j54i^  2  Ch.  28^5  3ii9t._18.  They 
declared  their  pedigrees]  i.e.  registered  themselves.  The  form 
of  the  verb  (iP^nn)  occurs  only  here.  Like  KTlTin,  so  frequent 
in  Ch.,  Neh.,  Ezr.,  it  is  a  denominative. — 19.  As  Yahweh 
commanded  Moses]  to  be  closely  connected  with  the  preceding 
V.  and  separated  from  clause  b.  For  the  formula,  cp.  Ex. 
39!-  5-  7  etc.,  Lev.  8  (several  times),  Nu.  2^3  etc.  CH.  regard 
the  formula  as  characteristic  of  P®,  to  whom  they  assign  v.^^"^^*, 
and  whose  hand  they  trace  in  the  expressions  commented  on 
in  the  two  preceding  notes.  Paterson  refers  the  peculiarities 
to  glossing  and  textual  accident. — And  he  numbered  them]  the 
sentence  is  introductory  to  the  following  details  of  the  census. 

16.  myn  'K'lp]  26'  K're;  K're  here  =  K'tib  in  26*  myn  'Nnp.  The  form 
K'lp  as  the  more  unusual  is  more  probably  correct ;  it  is  the  only  form 
in  the  similar  phrase  nj;in  'Kip  16-.— 17  f.  i'?'npn  .  .  .  np'i]  Dav.  1145;  for 
another  possible  explanation,  of.  i^  first  n. — 18.  nVn'i]  the  retention  of  the 
secondary  '  indicates  the  denominative  character  of  the  form  ;  ct.  vninn, 
and  cp.  Stade,  §  31a. — 19.  Dips'i]  For  the  cstr.  as  assumed  by  the  verse 
division,  cp.  Driver,  127  7.     C  U  read  npa'i. 

20-47.  The  numbers  of  the  twelve  tribes. — The  section 
consists  of  (i)  a  recurring  formula  based  on  v. 2'-;    (2)  the 


lO  NUMBERS 

numbers  of  the  several  tribes.  The  numbers  are  repeated  in 
c.  2.  The  form  and  present  position  of  the  section  may  be 
due  to  P^ ;    see  above,  p.  3,  and  below  on  v.*^~^*. 

The  position  of  Gad  in  this  list  (and  in  c,  26)  is  extraordinary, 
and  appears  due  to  the  influence  of  c.  2,  where  Gad  is  con- 
nected with  Reuben  and  Simeon  for  sufficient  reasons  (see 
introductory  note  to  c.  2).  G,  by  placing-  v.^^-  after  ^•'^•,  restores 
Gad  to  a  more  normal  position. 

In  the  twelve  repetitions  of  the  formula  there  are  but  three  variations. 
(a)  nai  ^2  Dn'?^'?^'?  v.-*^--^  is  omitted  in  J^  and  S  in  the  remaining  ten  cases. 
©  repeats  the  phrases  every  time  :  S  retains  them  only  in  v.^-  22.  24 .  ^ 
in  all  cases  and  S  in  v.^o  reverse  the  order  of  the  two  phrases  in  agreement 
with  V.2.  (6)  vips  v.^^  (S  cnn:p2)  is  a  manifest  intrusion  in  ||? ;  G  S  and  some 
Heb.  MSS.  omit  it.  (c)  ?§  (though  not  in  all  MSS.)  in  v.*'  omits  'j  before 
'3J  'J3  :  ct.  S  fflr  V. 

The  style  of  the  formula  is  redundant  and  clumsy ;  nm'?in  appears  to 
be  in  apposition  to  .  .  .  'J3 ;  but  in  turn  gives  place  to  "in  h^,  ns'  ^3,  and 
cnnps,  the  suffix  in  the  last  bringing  us  back  to  the  first  term,  but 
being  itself  explained  by  the  added  genitival  clause  .  .  .  nca'?.  Cp. 
Konig,  iii.  284c. 

45.  VJ1UM  n'n'j  nnx  z/'h]  the  omission  of  inx,  or  the  addition  of  another 
^^^<  b"N,  would  assimilate  this  cstr.  to  what  we  find  elsewhere  ;  for  the 
former  cp.  Gn.  9^  10^ ;  for  the  latter  13^  34^*,  Jos.  3'^.  Read  inx  »'{<  nnx  »'{< 
vrfi2K  nt:D^ ;  for  naa  cp.  G  S,  though  the  text  of  the  latter  as  a  whole  is  not 
preferable  to  ?§.  The  accents  (cf.  RV.)  connect  b"n  ne-j;  c-ys  with  the  first 
half  of  the  v.  ;  but  translate  rather,  "twelve  men  were  they,  each  repre- 
senting his  ancestral  tribe." — 55  f.  v.Ti  in  v.**  is  without  complement ;  it  is 
repeated  in  v.^  with  a  shortened  subject.  Lev.  13',  i  K.  8^  may  be 
cited  as  somewhat  analogous ;  but  it  is  not  improbable  that  two 
originally  distinct  statements  of  the  total  have  been  here  combined. 
See  above,  p.  2. — 57.  ^ipsoi?]  if  the  punctuation  be  correct,  this  verb 
furnishes  an  isolated  instance  in  Hebrew  of  a  reflexive  of  the  Kal  (cf. 
Arabic  Conj.  viii.,  Aram.  Ithpe'el,  Moabitic  Dnn"?:!,  Mesha,  1.  ii).  This 
passive  form  recurs  2^  26^^  i  K.  20"''  t ;  corresponding  active  forms  Jud. 
2Qii 6is.IT  21^1,  cp.  Stade,  §  162.  Others  explain  the  form  as  Hithpael,  with 
abandonment  of  the  reduplication  of  the  2nd  radical,  and  compensative 
lengthening  of  the  preceding  vowel  (for  the  first  point,  cp.  Piel  forms  like 
cpa)— Konig,  i.  p.  198  f. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  g-ather  tog-ether  here  and  to  con- 
sider once  for  all  the  numbers  yielded  by  the  two  censuses 
recorded  in  Numbers  (c.  1-4.  26).  The  details  given  are 
the  numbers  (i)  of  male  Israelites  over  twenty  years  be- 
longing" to  each  of  the  twelve  secular  tribes :  (a)  in  the 
second  year  of  the  Exodus,  c.   if.;   {b)  in  the  fortieth  year. 


I.  20-47 


II 


C.  26;  (2)  of  firstborn  male  Israelites  above  a  month  old, 
3*^ ;  (3)  of  males  above  a  month  old  belonging  to  the  three 
Levitical  families :  (a)  in  the  second  year,  c.  3 ;  (b)  in  the 
fortieth,  c.  26 ;  (4)  of  male  Levites  between  thirty  and  fifty 
years  of  age,  c.  4. 

I.  The  tribes  in  the  table  below  are  arranged  according 
to  their  size  at  the  first  census ;  the  order  in  the  text  of  c.  i 
(in  c.  26  it  is  the  same,  except  that  Manasseh  precedes 
Ephraim)  is  indicated  by  the  bracketed  number  to  the  left ; 
the  sign  +  or  —  to  the  right  indicates  that  the  tribe  Is  repre- 
sented as  having  increased  or  diminished  in  the  Interval 
between  the  two  censuses,  and  the  bracketed  figure  to  the 
rigfht  indicates  the  order  of  size  in  c.  26. 


C.  I,  year  s 

C.  26, 

year  40. 

(4)  Judah 

.     74,600 

76,500 

+      (I) 

(10)  Dan  . 

.     62,700 

64,400 

4-     (2) 

(2)  Simeon 

•     59.300 

22,200 

-    (12) 

(6)  Zebulun     , 

.     57,400 

60,500 

+      (4) 

(5)  Issachar    . 

.     54,400 

64,300 

4-     (3) 

(12)  Naphtali    . 

.     53,400 

45,400 

-     (S) 

(i)  Reuben 

.     46.500 

43,730 

-     (9) 

(3)  Gad  .         . 

.     45.650 

40,500 

-   (10) 

(11)  Asher         . 

.     41,500 

53,400 

+     (5) 

(7)  Ephraim    . 

.     40,500 

32,500 

-  (lO 

(9)  Benjamin  . 

.     35.400 

45,600 

+     (7) 

(8)  Manasseh 

.     32,200 

52,700 

+     (6) 

603,550  601,730 

male    Israelites    above    a    month 


Totals 

2.  The    firstborn 
number  22,273. 

3.  The  numbers  of  male  Levites  are — 


old 


Above  I 
Kohath    . 
Gershom 
Merari     . 

month  old. 

.      8600 
.     7500 
.     6200 

Between 

30  and  so  yearj. 
2750 
2630 
3200 

Total          .          22,000  (in  text) 
22,300  (actual) 
second  census  (26^-)  23,000 

8580 

These  numbers  must  on  every  ground  be  regarded  as 
entirely  unhistorical  and  unreal;  for  (i)  they  are  impossible; 
(2)  treated  as  real,  and  compared  with  one  another,  they  yield 


12  NUMBERS 

absurd  results ;    and  (3)  they  are  inconsistent  with   numbers 
given  in  earlier  Hebrew  literature. 

I.  The  total  represented  is  impossible.  Males  over  twenty 
form  but  very  little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  whole  population, 
thus  (neg-lecting-  the  51,000  odd  Levites)  the  total  in  c.  i  f. 
(603,550)  represents  a  total  of  men,  women,  and  children 
well  exceeding'  2,000,000.*  And  yet  this  multitude  is  repre- 
sented as  spending  forty  years  in  the  wilderness !  The 
impossibility  cannot  be  avoided  by  the  assumption  that  the 
two  millions  wandered  far  and  wide;  for  (i)  this  is  not  the 
representation  of  the  text,  according  to  which,  for  example, 
they  camped  in  a  fixed  order  (c.  2),  and  marched  together  at 
a  signal  given  by  two  trumpets  (c.  10) ;  and  (2)  the  numbers 
are  impossible  even  if  we  think  of  them  as  dispersed  over  the 
whole  peninsula  of  Sinai,  the  present  population  of  which  is 
estimated  at  from  4000  to  6000.  f 

"As  we  saw  the  peninsula,"  writes  Robinson  [Bibl.  Re- 
searches, X.  106),  "a  body  of  two  millions  of  men  could  not 
subsist  there  a  week  without  drawing  their  supplies  of 
water,  as  well  as  of  provisions,  from  a  great  distance."  J  By 
a  miracle,  no  doubt,  this  multitude  might  have  been  sustained; 
but  it  ought  to  be  observed  that  the  miracles  actually  recorded 
are  not  on  an  adequate  scale ;  for  let  any  one  read  the  story 
in  20^~^^,  and  ask  himself  whether  this  suggests  a  water 
supply  sufficient  for  a  multitude  equal  to  the  combined  popula- 
tions of  Glasgow,  Liverpool,  and  Birmingham.  It  must  suffice 
to  bring  this  number  once  more  to  the  touchstone  of  reality. 
The  number  at  the  end  of  the  wilderness  period  is  virtually  the 
same  as  at  the  beginning,  i.e.  we  are  to  think  of  two  million 
people  ready  to  fall  on  and  settle  in  Canaan,  already  long 
inhabited.  Now,  what  data  exist  point  to  about  one  million 
as  the  outside  population  of  Israel  and  Judah  when  settled  in 
the  country ;  §  even  this  population  representing  a  density  of 

*  For  the  vital  statistics  assumed  throughout  the  discussion,  see  Ency. 
Brit.^  xix.  514. 

t  Ency.  Brit.  xxii.  89. 

J  See  also  Doug-hty,  Arabia  Deserfa,  i.  61,  ii.  605. 

§  Buhl,  Die  socialen  Verhdltnisse  der  Israeliten,  51-55;  Meyer,  Entste- 
hung  des  Judenthnms,  108-114. 


1. 20-47  13 

about  150  to  the  square  mile,  i.e.  a  density  nearly  twice  that 

of  Spain,  and  about  the  same  as  that  of  Denmark  or  Scotland. 

The  numbers  of  the  several  tribes  must  stand  or  fall  with 

the  total. 

It  is  the  great  merit  of  Colenso  to  have  demonstrated  the  absolute 
impossibility  of  the  numbers  ;  and  to  his  discussion  (^Pentateuch,  pt.  i. 
c.  iv.-xiii.)  reference  must  be  made  for  further  detail.  Colenso,  being  con- 
cerned with  the  credibility  of  the  Pentateuch  as  a  whole,  very  properly  tests 
the  compatibility  of  the  numbers  with  statements  in  any  part  of  the  whole. 
In  what  is  here  said  they  are  compared  only  with  the  statements  in  P. 

2.  The  unreality  of  the  numbers  is  independently  proved 
by  comparing"  them  one  with  another.  Thus :  the  number 
of  male  firstborn  is  22,273;  allowing'  the  number  of  female 
firstborn  to  be  equal,  the  total  number  of  firstborn  is 
44,546,  and,  therefore,  the  total  number  of  Israelites  being 
between  2,000,000  and  2,500,000,  the  average  number  of 
children  to  a  family  is  about  50 !  Again,  if,  as  is  probable,  the 
firstborn  of  the  mother  is  intended  (cp.  3^^),  then,  since  the 
number  of  firstborn  and  of  mothers  must  have  been  identical, 
there  were  44,546  mothers:  but  the  number  of  women  being 
approximately  the  same  as  of  men,  the  women  over  twenty 
numbered  something  over  600,000,  and  therefore  only  about 
I  in  14  or  15  women  over  twenty  were  mothers!  The 
comparison  of  the  two  sets  of  Levitical  figures  bring  less 
absurd,  but  still  unreal,  results  to  light.  The  average 
European  percentage  of  persons  (male  and  females)  between 
thirty  and  fifty  years  of  age  to  the  whole  population  is  barely 
25,  and  in  the  U.S.A.  the  percentage  is  22;  but  the  per- 
centage (males  only  considered)  among  the  Kohathites  is 
32,  the  Gershonites  35,  the  Merarites  52.  For  the  sake  of 
simplicity  the  numbers  are  here  taken  as  they  stand ;  some 
slight  difference  would  be  made  by  allowing  for  children 
under  a  month,  or  again  by  adopting  the  view  that  first- 
born means  the  firstborn  to  the  father,  and  then  allowing 
for  the  influence  of  polygamy ;  but  no  legitimate  allowance  or 
device  can  get  rid  of  the  essential  impossibility  of  the  figures. 
For  a  full  discussion  and  an  account  of  the  attempts  to 
surmount  the  difficulties,  see  Colenso,  Pentateuch^  pt.  i.  c. 
xiv.  ;  pt.  vi.  p.  500  flf. 


1 4  NUMBERS 

3.  The  40,000  (?  fighting-  men)  of  Jud.  5^  stands  in  strik- 
ing contrast  with  the  301,000  (first  census  273,300)  of  men 
above  twenty  assigned  in  Nu.  26  to  the  six  tribes  (Benjamin, 
Ephraim,  Manasseh,  Naphtali,  Zebulun,  Issachar)  celebrated 
in  Deborah's  song  as  participating  in  the  war.  Again,  the 
male  Danites  above  twenty,  according  to  the  census,  just  before 
settling  in  Canaan  numbered  64,000;  in  Jud.  18  we  have  a 
narrative  recording  a  migration  of  at  least  a  considerable  part 
of  the  tribe  of  Dan :  yet  the  migrating  party  includes  only 
600  armed  men. 

But  if  the  numbers  are  unhistorlcal,  how  did  they  arise, 
and  how  much  do  they  mean  ?  The  total,  600,000,  was  derived 
by  P  from  the  earlier  work  JE  (Ex.  12^^,  Nu.  11^^),  unless  we 
assume  that  the  original  number  in  these  two  earlier  passages 
has  been  removed  by  a  later  harmonising  scribe  in  favour  of 
P's  600,000.  How  the  number  was  obtained  we  are  just  as  little 
able  to  determine  as  in  the  parallel  cases  of  high  numbers  else- 
where {e.g.  Jud.  20^-  ^'^,  2  S.  24^) ;  it  must  suffice  to  have  shown 
that  the}'  are  impossible  even  under  the  conditions  prevailing 
after  the  settlement  in  Canaan.  The  exacter  totals  (603,550 
and  601,730)  appear  to  have  been  given  to  gain  an  air  of 
reality ;  in  the  same  way  the  numbers  of  the  individual  tribes 

are  not  precisely -^2^  ^'•^'  50,000  for  each  tribe;  but  the 
numbers  are  so  manipulated  that  in  each  census  precisely  six 
tribes  have  over  and  precisely  six  under  50,000 ;  somewhat 
similarly  the  number  of  the  Levitical  cities  (48)  is  represented 
not  as  12  X  4,  but  as  13  +  10+ 13  +  12  (Jos.  21*"'^).*  Under 
the  circumstances  it  seems  likely  that  all  the  tribal  numbers 
are  purely  artificial ;  though  the  number  assigned  to  Judah 
presupposes  a  population  not  greatly  in'  excess  of  a  quarter  of 
a  million  (which  may  be  taken  as  a  rough  approximation  to 
the  actual  population  of  the  Southern  Kingdom),  and  might, 
if  it  stood  alone,  be  treated  as  an  anachronism  rather  than  an 
artifice.  The  fact  that  in  both  censuses  Judah  shows  the 
largest  numbers  may  be  intentional,  and  due  to  the  writer's 
desire  to  illustrate  the  pre-eminence  of  Judah  (cp.  p.  18) ; 
but  for  the  most  part  no  significance  can  be  detected  in,  and 
*  Noldeke,  Untersuchungen,  1 16-120. 


1. 4S-50  15 

was  probably  not  intended  to  attach  to,  either  the  numbers  of 
the  several  tribes  themselves  or  the  variations  between  the 
first  and  second  census. 

The  numbers  of  the  male  firstborn  (22,273)  and  the  male 
Levites  (22,000)  are  intimately  connected.  Since  the  impossi- 
bility of  the  proportion  noted  above  forbids  us  to  believe  that 
the  number  of  the  male  firstborn  was  inferred  from  the  total 
number  of  male  adults,  we  must  consider  it  based  on  the 
number  of  Levites,  a  slight  excess  (273)  being-  attributed  to 
the  firstborn  in  order  to  admit  of  an  illustration  of  the  law  of 
18^^.  But  this  consideration  leads  us  further.  The  number 
of  the  Levites  was  reached  independently  and  without  refer- 
ence to  the  600,000.  Whence  or  how  we  cannot  say :  it  is 
more  moderate  than  the  Chronicler's  impossible  figure  (38,000 
over  thirty  years  old  =  about  94,000  over  a  month  old),  but 
scarcely  corresponds  to  reality  at  any  period. 

47-54.  The  Levites  not  numbered  with  the  other  tribes : 
their  functions  and  position  in  the  camp. — In  v.^'^  it  is  stated 
as  a  matter  of  fact  that  the  Levites  were  not  numbered  with 
the  other  tribes  :  in  v.^^'-  the  command  is  given  that  they  are 
not  to  be  so  numbered.  Further,  v.^^,  strictly  interpreted, 
implies  that  neither  Levi  nor  the  other  tribes  have  yet  been 
numbered.  The  facts  seem  best  explained  by  the  assumption 
that  v.^'^"^^  did  not  originally  stand  in  their  present  position 
(We.  Comp.  178  f.).  Kue.,  however  {Hex.  §  6,  n.  35),  stands  by 
the  present  order  on  the  ground  that  **  we  cannot  be  surprised 
that  in  a  fictitious  narrative  the  succession  of  details  should  be 
open  to  criticism."  It  is,  of  course,  altogether  illegitimate  to 
surmount  the  difficulty  by  rendering  with  RV.  in  48,  for  the 
Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  for  the  Waw  Conv.  cannot  state  a  reason 
(Driver,  Tenses,  76,  Obs.) ;  13T'1  must  be  rendered  here  as  else- 
where, and  Yahweh  spake. — 50-53.  Brief  instructions,  all  ot 
which  are  elaborately  developed  in  c.  2-4.  The  Levites  are 
to  carry  the  tabernacle  on  the  march,  to  set  it  up  on  encamp- 
ing, and  to  take  it  down  at  starting :  they  are  to  encamp 
immediately  round  it  so  as  to  prevent  any  but  themselves 
coming  near  it. — 49.  Thotc  shalt  notniimher\  note  the  singular, 
and  cp.   notes  on  v.^-^. — 50.  But  appoint  thou]  the  pronoun  is 


I 6  NUMBERS 

expressed  in  Heb.  and  is  therefore  emphatic  (Dav.  §  107  ;  Dr. 
Tenses,  p.  201).  Di.  explains  the  emphatic  pronoun  as 
implying-  "Thou  by  thyself  and  not  in  company  with  Aaron 
and  the  princes  "  (v.^^-).  But  it  is  the  emphasis  of  antithesis — 
Thou  shalt  not  number  it  .  .  .  but  appoint. — The  tabernacle  of 
the  testimony^  Ex.  38^^. — 51.  The  stranger  that  cometh  nigh 
shall  be  put  to  deatli\  it  is  a  capital  offence  for  any  one  not  a 
Levite  to  concern  himself  with  the  holy  tent  and  its  furniture. 
The  word  translated  **  strang-er  "  (IT)  is  used  of  one  who  does 
not  belong-  to  the  circle  which  the  writer  has  directly  in  view, 
whether  he  explicitly  mentions  it  or  not.  Thus  in  Dt.  25^  the 
"  stranger  "  is  a  person  of  another  family  ;  '*  strange  children  " 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  husband  are  the  offspring  of  his 
wife's  adulterous  connection  (Hos.  5'^).  The  word  is  frequently 
used  of  the  *'  layman  "  in  contrast  to  the  priest  (3^°,  Ex.  29'^). — 
52,  53.  The  whole  people  are  to  encamp  in  an  orderly  manner 
(which  is  fully  described  in  c.  2)  around  the  tabernacle,  but 
kept  from  immediate  proximity  to  it  by  the  Levites.  This  inner 
position  of  the  Levites  is  to  prevent  any  even  accidental  con- 
tact of  the  non-Levites  with  the  tabernacle,  and,  consequently, 
any  such  sudden  and  destructive  outburst  of  Yahweh's  ang-er 
as  we  read  of  in  2  S.  6^^-  and  in  several  passages  of  P  (17^'^ 
(16^^)  i85  etc.  ;  cp.  S^^).— 53.  {And  the  Levites)  shall  keep  the 
charge  of\  used  as  here  with  a  gen.  of  the  obj.  to  be  guarded 
the  phrase  (niDB^O  ICIJ')  is  characteristic  of  P  and  subsequent 
writings,  as  also  of  Ezekiel  (cp.  e.g.  Ezek.  40^^^-  44^-  ^^-j  1  Ch. 
23^-)  ;  closely  connected  with  this  is  the  limitation  in  P  of  the 
phrase  *'  Yahweh's  charge"  (Lev.  8^^,  Nu.  9^^)  to  a  particular 
duty,  whereas  in  earlier  writings  it  was  used  with  a  more 
general  reference,  e.g.  Gn.  26^  (JE),  Dt.  11^. — 54.  A  charac- 
teristic priestly  formula;  cp.  e.g.  Gn.  6^,  and  for  a  full  list 
see  Dr.  L.O.T.  p.  132,  n.  11. 

IL  The  position  of  the  tribes  in  camp  and  on  the  march, 
and  their  numbers. — The  present  form  and  position  of  this 
chapter  are  probably  not  original :  see  above,  p.  3. 

The  writer  seems  to  have  conceived  the  Israelite  camp  in 
the  wilderness  as  a  quadrilateral ;  round  the  tent  of  meeting 
as  a  centre  was  an  inner  quadrilateral  formed  by  the  priests  on 


II. 


17 


the  E.,  and  the  three  divisions  of  Levi  on  the  remaining-  three 
sides  (v.^'^,  cp.  i^s-si  ^^^^  29.  35.  ssj^  ^jj  outer  quadrilateral  was 
formed  by  the  camps  of  the  twelve  tribes,  three  on  each  side. 
Of  each  set  of  three,  one  tribe  is  distinguished  above  the  rest, 
and  gives  its  name  to  the  entire  camp  on  its  side ;  the  mean- 
ing- of  p?  certainly  seems  to  be  that  this  more  distinguished 
tribe  occupied  the  central  position  on  its  side ;  G  implies 
that  its  position  was  at  the  end  of  the  side,  a  view  adopted 
by  few  modern  commentators.  The  arrangement  described 
in  f^  may  be  shown  by  diagram  thus — 


W- 


Asher. 

Dan. 

Naphtali. 

c 

u 

'6 

c4 

_rl 

Merarites. 

0 

'? 

en 

0 

in 

CQ 

£ 

H-i 

N 

c 

(n 

P 

B 

4} 

u 

-,       'rt 

'S 

Tent  of 

< 

p        u 

0 

a, 

en 

Meeting. 

0 

3 

1 

W 

u 

0 

en 

C 
0 

•"-* 

a 

02 

. 

u 

>• 

c 

IT 

_3 

Kohathites. 

3 

C 

* 

.a 

rt 

N 

S 

Gad. 

Reuben. 

Simeon. 

We  need  not  suppose  that  the  writer  bases  his  description 
on  any  lingering  tradition  of  what  actually  occurred  in  the 
wilderness,  or  on  knowledge,  at  first  or  second  hand,  of  the 
form  of  the  Bedawin  camps  in  his  own  time.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  the  description  is  at  variance  with  earlier  tradition,  which 
placed  the  sacred  tent  outside  the  camp  (Ex.  33'^*-  E). 

What  the  usual  form  of  the  Hebrew  military  camp  actually  was  we 
cannot  confidently  say.  From  the  terms  m'a(3i"'n.),  which  is  not  actually 
used  of  a  Hebrew  camp,  and  h^va  many  have  inferred  that  it  was  commonly 
round  {EBi.  s.v.  "Camp,"  §  i).  Modern  BedawJ  camps  are  sometimes 
round,  especially  when  small :  Burckhardt,  Bedouin  and  Wahdbys,  i.  33  ; 
Doughty,  Ar.  Des.  i.  46  ("  His  people  with  him  were  some  thirty  tents  set 
out  in  an  oval,  which  is  their  manner  in  these  parts  " — i.e.  between  Ayla 
and  Maon),  ii.  309  ("A  menzil  of  B.  Aly,  sixteen  booths  pitched  ring-wise, 
which  hitherto  I  had  not  seen  any  nomads  use  in  Arabia  " — near  Hiyil). 
For  Bedawi  camps  not  round  (though  also  not  quadrilateral),  see  Doughty, 
i.  414,  221,  and  the  picture  facing  p.  385 ;  also  Seetzen,  Reisen,  ii.  298. 
2 


I 8  NUMBERS 

The  description  rather  expresses  an  idea — that  of  the 
sanctifying"  presence  of  God  in  Israel's  midst  (cp.  5^  Lev.  15^^) 
The  sacred  presence  needs  to  be  guarded  against  undue 
approach,  hence  the  sacred  caste  of  Levi  separate  the  taber- 
nacle from  the  secular  tribes.  The  most  sacred  caste,  the 
priests,  guard  the  entrance  to  the  tent  on  the  E. 

The  writer,  who  thus  embodies  his  ideas  in  a  picture  of 
the  past,  owes  something  in  all  probability  to  Ezekiel,  who, 
picturing  the  ideal  future,  makes  Caanan  an  exact  parallelo- 
gram enclosing  the  temple,  which  is  to  be  immediately  sur- 
rounded by  the  priests,  the  Levites,  and  the  holy  city  (Ezek. 
48).  In  its  turn  the  present  description  may  have  influenced 
the  author  of  the  NT.  Apocalypse,  who,  however,  gives  yet 
freer  expression  to  the  idea  in  his  depiction  of  the  city  which 
lies  four  square,  and,  instead  of  being  sanctified  by  a  fixed 
centre  of  the  divine  presence,  is  wholly  illumined  by  the  glory 
of  God  (Rev.  21). 

The  details  of  the  description  are  not  filled  in  at  haphazard.  Though 
generally  overlooked,  it  is  not  difficult  to  detect  the  reasons  for  the  manner 
in  which  the  tribes  are  distributed.  Judah,  in  P  the  pre-eminent  tribe  (see 
above,  p.  14),  occupies  the  centre  of  the  most  honourable  side — the  eastern, 
parallel  to  the  priests  on  the  inner  cordon.  With  him  are  associated  the 
two  youngest  "  sons  "  of  Leah,  who  are  generally  and  most  naturally  con- 
nected with  him.  The  southern  seems  to  be  the  next  side  in  importance  ; 
on  it  the  Kohathites  encamp,  who,  though  descended  from  Levi's  second 
son,  are  the  Levitical  family  from  which  the  priests  sprang,  and  who  are 
intrusted  with  the  care  of  the  most  sacred  objects.  Those  who  encamp  on 
the  south,  moreover,  immediately  follow  the  eastern  tribes  on  the  march. 
The  south  is  occupied  by  the  remaining  sons  of  Leah,  Reuben  and  Simeon, 
the  firstborn  naturally  occupying  the  centre.  But  a  tribe  is  needed  to  com- 
plete the  trio  ;  this  is  naturally  found  in  the  eldest  "  son  "  of  Leah's  hand- 
maid— Gad.  The  next  side — third  in  rank,  and  occupied  within  by  the 
Gershonites,  the  descendants  of  Levi's  eldest  son — is  filled  by  the  three 
Rachel  tribes,  Ephraim  (by  nature  the  second-born,  but  promoted,  accord- 
ing to  early  tradition  (Gn.  48'^^'),  to  a  higher  position  by  Jacob)  occupy- 
ing the  centre.  Finally,  the  north  is  held  by  the  three  remaining  "sons" 
of  the  handmaids,  the  eldest  being  in  the  centre.  See,  further.  Gray, 
♦'The  Lists  of  the  Twelve  Tribes"  in  Expositor^  March  1902,  pp.  225-240. 

1.  To  Moses  and  Aaron]  Moses  only  is  mentioned  in  v.^ ; 
cp.  1^  n. — 2.  Wiik  his  own  company]  so  in  v.^-  ^°-  ^^-  ^  substitute 
"company"  for  "standard"  of  RV. :  see  phil.  n. — By  the 
ensigns]    The    term    (nix)   is   of  wide    meaning   (=**sign," 


II.  1-17  19 

"mark"),  and  occurs  nowhere  else  with  its  present  signifi- 
cation, except,  perhaps,  in  Ps.  74*.  The  use  of  ensigns  or 
standards  for  the  several  families  forming  an  encampment  is 
true  to  modern  Bedawi  custom,  and  may  have  been  suggested 
to  the  writer  by  such  custom  in  his  day.  "The  Beduin  coming 
near  a  stead  where  they  will  encamp,  Zeyd  returned  to  us  ;  and 
where  he  thought  good,  there  struck  down  the  heel  of  his  tall 
horseman's  lance,  shelfa  or  romhh^  stepping  it  in  some  sandy 
desert  bush  ;  this  is  the  standard  of  Zeyd's  fellowship, — they 
that  encamp  with  him  and  are  called  his  people."*  Modern 
scholars  f  have  generally  concluded  that  the  use  of  two 
different  flags  is  here  implied — the  family  ensign  (nit?),  and  a 
standard  \?T\)  for  each  group  of  those  tribes.  But  see  last  n. 
The  meaning  of  the  verse  is  rather  this  :  the  individual  Israel- 
ites are  to  keep  to  their  proper  quarters ;  and  within  these 
are  to  encamp  by  families.  The  modern  Bedawin  also  encamp 
"by  kindreds"  (Doughty,  Arabia  Deserta,  i.  414). — 3-10.  If 
the  suggestions  made  above  (p.  2  f.)  are  sound,  in  their  original 
form  these  now  overloaded  verses  ran  :  And  those  who  encamp 
eastwards  towards  the  sun-rising  shall  be  the  company  of  the 
camp  of  Judah,  and  those  that  encamp  beside  him  shall  be  the 
tribe  of  Issachar  and  the  tribe  of  Zebulun ;  these  shall  start 
out  (on  the  march)  first.  So,  similarly,  in  the  corresponding 
sections,  v.^''"^^-  ^^^^i.  25-31^ — 3^  Eastwards  towards  the  sun- 
rising\  3^8  3415^  Ex.  2f^  38^^  Jos.  ig^^-j-  (p).  ^p.  Jos.  19I2  (P), 
and,  for  a  similar  redundancy,  see  Ex.  26^^  (P). 

17.  And  the  tent  of  meeting,  the  camp  of  the  Levites,  shall 
set  forth  in  the  midst  of  the  {other)  camps]  the  appositional 
subject  is  awkward;  the  difficulty  is  concealed  in  EV.,  which 
is  simply  not  a  translation  of  fi?.  A  different  view  of  the 
order  in  which  the  Levites  marched  is  taken  in  lo^^'^i.  ggg 
notes  there. — As  they  encamp,  so  shall  they  start]  The  subject 
is,  of  course,  the  Levites,  not  as  Ibn  Ezra,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  conflict  with  lo^'^"^^,  will  have  it,  the  secular  tribes.  Di. 
limits  the  force  of  the  words  to  a  confirmation  of  clause  a : 

*  Doughty,  /^raim  Deserta,  i.  221 ;  see  also  Burckhardt,  Bedouin  and 
Wahdbys,  i.  34. 

t  Di.,  Now.  {Arch.  p.  362),  Buhl,  BDB. 


20  NUMBERS 

as  the  Levltes  pitched  In  the  middle  of  the  tribes  (i^-'),  so 
are  they  to  march  in  the  middle  of  them.  But  the  following 
clause,  "everyone  in  his  place,  according-  to  their  companies," 
seems  to  require  a  wider  meaning,  and  to  imply  that  the 
Levites,  like  the  twelve  tribes,  were  divided  into  (four) 
companies,  each  having  a  set  place  alike  in  camp  and  on 
the  march.  These  positions  in  camp  are  given  subsequently 
in  the  present  (3"^'  ^^*  ^^-  ^),  but  may  have  been  given  earlier 
in  the  original,  form  of  the  narrative  (above,  p.  3).  On  this 
view  of  the  words  the  writer  means  that  the  order  on  the 
march  was:  (i)  Priests,  (2)  Kohathites,  (3)  Gershonites,  (4) 
Merarites ;  cp.  the  diagram  above. — 32.  The  subscription 
to  the  statements  in  v.*-  ^-  ^  etc. ;  cp.  i^*-*^. — 33  corresponds 
to  i*^  but  to  nothing  in  the  present  chapter. — 34:.  The  proper 
subscription  to  the  divine  instructions  In  v.^'-  etc. 

2.  "jJi]  some  such  meaning  as  company  is  demanded    in   v.*  and  Is 
suitable  elsewhere  (v.i"-  "•  i^-  25-  si.  w  ,52  jpU.  is.  22. 26),     jhere  is,  it  is  true, 

little  etymolog-ical  support  for  it,  t<iu>-J  "a  crowd  of  men,"  not  counting 
for  much.  But  there  is  scarcely  more  for  the  usually  accepted  rendering 
"standard."  Ancient  tradition  consistently  supports  such  a  meaning  as 
that  now  suggested  :  (5  rdy/jLa,  Si  (n\o  ^,  2C  Dpa  (  =  Tci^ts) ;  see,  further, 
the  discussions  by  Gray  and  Cheyne  in  JQR.  xi.  92-101,  232-236. — 
4.  Dnnpai  1N3:ji]  so  9  times  in  Jlj ;  but  in  v.^*  "• "  and  in  S  throughout 
inpsi  1K3!>1.  Paterson  in  SBOT.  argues  forcibly  in  favour  of  DTipsi 
throughout,  and  of  regarding  IKI^  as  an  interpolation  by  R'*  under  the 
influence  of  lo^-^*,  or  of  seeing  in  the  two  terms  traces  of  two  recensions 
of  P  here  fused  together. — 5.  v^v  D'jnm]  the  full  predicate  is  nDB-a"  naD  + 
j'^nr  ni:D  v.''  (read  rather  nam  as  in  v.^^*-^*^^),  i.e.  each  of  the  two  tribes 
encamps  beside  {h'j)  Judah.  fflr,  on  the  other  hand,  by  inserting  at  the 
beginning  of  v.''  koI  ol  irapefi^aXKovTes  ix^'fi'^voi  {  +  ai)TOv,  v.^^),  implies  that 
Issachar  only  pitched  by  the  side  of  Judah,  and  that  Zebulun  pitched  by 
the  side  of  Issachar;  so  in  the  corresponding  vv. — 7.  nao]  S  S  and  some 
Heb.  MSS.  naDi;  cp.  last  n.— 16.  D^jti-i]  ffi  S  U  ^  omit  the  1:  so  also 
(except  Z)  in  v.^^;  cp.  ^  in  v.^- ^i.  — 18.  na']  in  v.^^-^s  the  term  of 
position  precedes  □nxas'?:  so  here  in  <&. — 20.  v^V^]  read  with  S  vVj;  D'jnm. — 
31.  c.t'?ji^]  not  found  in  v.^-  '^-  ^.  On  the  other  hand,  Dnxas'?,  which  we 
should  expect  here  after  niND,  is  missing. 

III.  1-4.  The  generations  of  Aaron. — In  substance  a  mere 
repetition  of  Ex.  6^^,  Lev.  lo^^-.  It  appears  to  be  inserted 
here  as  a  preface  to  v.^^-  with  a  view  to  explaining  **  Aaron 
and  his  sons,"  v.^^-     "The  anointed  priests"  in  v.^  betrays 


II.  32-ni.  1-4  21 

the  hand  of  P^ :  cp.  Introd.  §  ii. — 1.  Now  ihese  are  Ihe 
generations  of  .  .  .]  L.O.T.  6  ff .  The  usage  is  not  quite  the 
same  as  in  P's  narrative  in  Genesis,  since  the  subject  of  what 
follows  (v.^*^-)  is  the  descendants  of  Levi  (not  Aaron).  The 
insertion  of  Moses'  name  afte?  Aaron  is  unusual. — In  inou7it 
Sinai\  cp.  Ex.  2^^  31^^  Lev.  7^8  25I  26*^  27^^,  Nu.  2^^'.  ct. 
*Mn  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,"  i^  3^*  9^. — 3.  Wlio  were  in- 
stalled] lit.  "whose  hand  was  filled."  The  phrase  7}iille' 
yad  is  ancient  (Jud.  17^-  ^^),  and  has  a  parallel  in  the  Assyrian 
unialli  kati.*  It  is  said,  for  instance,  of  Ramman-nirari  iii. 
that  the  god  Ashur  "filled  his  hand  with  an  incomparable 
kingdom"  {KB.  i.  p.  190).  The  precise  original  sense  is 
uncertain;  according  to  some,  it  meant  "to  fill  the  hand" 
with  money  (cp.  Jud.  175-12  with  iS*) ;  according  to  others, 
with  the  office  to  which  one  is  appointed  (cp.  the  Assyrian 
usage) ;  and  according  to  others,  with  the  sacrifice  (cp. 
2  Ch.  13^).  Later,  the  original  sense  must  have  been 
commonly  lost  sight  of,  for  it  is  used  of  the  altar  (Ezek.  43^^ ; 
cp.  788  phil.  n.) ;  hence  in  P  the  phrase  may  be  rendered  "in- 
stalled "  or  "instituted."! — 4.  And  they  had  no  children]  not 
stated  in  Lev.  10,  but  repeated  in  i  Ch.  24^. 

1.  n3T  Dva]  cstr.  as,  e.g..,  Ps.  138*;  Dav.  25.  im  with  seghol  instead  of 
sere  (cp,  oa?,  nss)  is  3rd  pf.,  not  inf.  (Str.) ;  G.-K.  52  /.  0.—I.  HiD'ax]  here 
as  everywhere  (except  A  in  Ex.  6-'*  A^icrovp),  in  Ch.  as  well  as  in  the 
Pent.,  G  reads  A^iovd-iwiK  ;  with  ni.t3n  cp.  ni.t'jn,  ni.t.— 4.  •"'  'Js'?]  bis 
as  in  Lev.  lo**'  ;  ct.  26^*.  In  i  Ch.  24^  D.TaN  'ish  is  substituted  for  the  first. 
With  '"'  'JsV  niD,  cp.  2  S.  21^— jno'i]  pi.  (i  Ch,  24^)  unnecessary  ;  Dav.  1136, 

5-13.  The  institution  of  the  Levites  as  a  caste  of  priests' 
servants. — V.^~^  general  description  of  the  functions  of  the 
Levites  and  their  subordination  to  the  priests;  v.^^*-  their 
relation  to  Israel :  they  are  the  representatives  of  the  first- 
born— a  point  elaborated  in  v.^*'"^^ ;  \.^^-  ^^-  ^^*-  the  specific 
duties  of  the  three  Levitical  families. 

In  the  preceding  books  of  the  Pentateuch  Levi  has  been 
frequently  referred  to  as  the  eponymous  ancestor  of  the  tribe, 

*  See  Fried,  Delitzsch,  Assyr.  Handworterbuch,  4396 ;  cp.  Winckler 
in  KB.  V,  p,  2 1  *. 

t  In  addition  to  the  Lexicons,  see  Nowack,  Arch.  ii.  120 f.  (with  refer- 
ences); Baudissin,  AT  Pnesierthum,  183 f.;  Weinel  in  ^^T'lF.  1898,  pp. 
60  f.,  42  f. 


2  2  NUMBERS 

and  as  a  tribe  not  possessing-  the  character  of  a  religious 
caste:  Gn.  29^^  34.  35^^  46^^  49^,  Ex.  i^  2^  6^^~^^.  Further, 
there  are  two  passages  in  JE  which  may  recognise,  or  con- 
template, the  sacred  character  of  the  tribe :  Ex.  4^^^  ^2'^^'^ ; 
and  two  passages  belonging  to  P^  which  certainly  regard 
Levi  as  a  sacred  caste,  Ex.  38^^,  Lev.  25^'-^-,  the  one  pre- 
supposing Nu.  3,  the  other  Nu.  35^"^.  These  exhaust  the 
references  of  all  kinds  to  Levi  in  Gn.  Ex.  Lev. 

Prior  to  Nu.  1-3  there  is,  then,  no  reference  in  P^  to  sacred 
Levites — a  term  which  may  be  conveniently  used  for  Levi 
regarded  as  a  sacred  caste,  when  in  the  interests  of  clearness 
the  distinction  needs  to  be  made.  Yet  though  the  institu- 
tion of  the  caste  is  first  described  in  c.  3,  it  is  quite  excep- 
tionally presupposed  in  i*7-53  2'^"^-  ^s.  This  may  be  an 
additional  reason  for  thinking  that  the  institution  of  Levi 
originally  preceded  the  establishment  of  the  camp  order 
(above,  p.  3).  But  be  this  as  it  may,  the  institution  of 
sacred  Levites  in  P^  stands  entirely  apart  from  and  follows 
the  institution  of  the  priesthood.  A  correct  appreciation 
of  this  is  essential  to  an  understanding  of  the  author's  view 
of  the  hierocratic  constitution.  Genealogically,  priests  and 
sacred  Levites  are  connected :  they  are  sprung  from  a  common 
ancestor :  as  religious  castes  they  are  from  the  first  and 
for  ever  entirely  and  completely  distinct,  called  into  being 
by  two  perfectly  distinct  and  independent  Jials  of  Yahweh, 
the  priests  first  (Ex.  28)  to  a  perpetual  and  exclusive  office 
,(Ex.  29^,  Nu.  3^0),  then  the  Levites.  Levitical  descent  is 
alike  in  fact  and  theory  essential  to  the  sacred  Levite ;  what 
is  of  the  essence  of  the  priesthood  is  descent  from  AnroJi — 
Levitical  descent  is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  implicit  in  this  and 
necessary,  but  it  is  theoretically  negligible. 

The  priests,  then,  are  not  exalted  Levites  ;  and  just  as 
little  are  the  sacred  Levites  degraded  priests.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  priests  are  selected  from  and  stand  over  against  all 
Israel,  not  merely  Levi  (Ex.  28^,  Lev.  g'^-  ^ :  so  in  Psalms 
dependent  on  P — 115^'-  ii8-^-  135^^^-) ;  and  it  is  all  Israel  that 
in  P^'s  story  of  Korah  claims  the  priesthood,  c.  16. 

Priests    could    and    did   exist   before   and  without   sacred 


in.  5-13  23 

Levites,  but  sacred  Levites  are  unthinkable  without  priests. 
They  are  essentially  "servants  of  the  priests"  (3^),  a  sub- 
ordinate caste  "joined"  [nilwah)  on  to  the  previously  existing 
priestly  caste  (18^).  Thus  the  order  in  which  the  institutions 
established  by  Moses  at  Yahweh's  command  originated  was — 
the  altar  or  place  of  sacrifice  (Ex.  27) ;  the  priests  (Ex.  28) ; 
the  Levites  (Nu.  3). 

Such  is  P^'s  theory;  post-exilic,  i.e.  post-Ezran,  practice 
is  governed  by  it ;  and  the  Chronicler  reconstructs  the  past 
in  accordance  with  it.*  But  how  does  it  compare  with 
earlier  practice  and  other  laws  ? 

In  earlier  practice,  Levites  not  of  the  seed  of  Aaron  were 
priests  (Jud.  i8^°),  and  the  priestly  office  was  at  first  not 
even  limited  to  Levites,  though  they  were  held  to  have  a 
superior  fitness  for  It  (Jud.  if-'^^'^\  i  S.  7I,  2  S.  8^3  ao^^). 
All  this  is  entirely  at  variance  with  P^'s  theory;  yet  the 
writers  never,  except  perhaps  In  Jud.  17^,  take  exception  to 
it.  That  in  practice  there  was  no  distinction  between  priestly 
and  non-priestly  Levites  down  to  the  Captivity  is  clearly 
implied  by  Ezekiel,  44^^"^^. 

So  with  the  theory  or  law:  the  compiler  of  the  Book  of 
Kings  (i  K.  12^^  cp.  13^)  condemns  Jeroboam  because  he  had 
made  priests  of  people  who  were  not  Levites ;  the  implication 
is  clear — any  Levite  might  be  a  priest ;  the  Levites  are  not  yet 
divided  into  two  classes,  one  of  which  consisted  of  priests,  the 
other  of  priests'  servants. 

The  same  theory  underlies  Dt.  33^"^^  and  the  main  body 
of  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  ;  all  Levites  have  a  right  to  dis- 
charge priestly  functions  (lo^'-  i8^~^).  Here  the  Levites  are, 
it  is  true,  classified  (iS*"^):  but  both  classes  are  priests;  they 
are  priests  of  the  capiital  or  priests  of  the  provincial  towns. 

Finally,  we  approximate  to  P^'s  theory  In  Ezekiel.  The 
prophet  writing  in  exile  in  the  year  572,  and  sketching  the 
future  constitution  of  Israel,  recognises  that,  down  to  the 
Exile,  the  Levites  had  formed  in  respect  of  the  priestly  function 

*  The  Book  of  Jubilees  throws  back  the  origin  of  the  priesthood  to  the 
patriarchal  period,  when,  of  necessity,  Levi  (not  Aaron)  is  the  first  priest, 
c.  32. 


24  NUMBERS 

a  single  casie,  but  provides  that  in  the  future  they  shall  be 
divided  into  two  distinct  castes — a  priestly  caste,  consisting'  of 
the  sons  of  Zadok,  i.e.  the  priests  of  Jerusalem,  and  a  caste  of 
priests'  servants,  consisting  of  (the  descendants  of)  priests  who, 
before  the  Exile,  had  officiated  in  idolatrous  worship,  i.e.  at  the 
high  places,  and  are  henceforth,  for  this  offence,  to  forfeit  their 
priesthood  and  become  subordinates  (Ezek.  44^"^^,  esp.  io-i6j_ 

Thus  the  division  of  the  Levites  into  two  castes,  which 
elsewhere  first  appears  even  as  a  theory  in  Ezekiel,  and  is 
then  consciously  and  deliberately  proposed  as  a  novelty  for 
the  future,  is  accepted  in  P^  as  coeval  with  the  institution 
of  worship  in  Israel. 

Since  P^'s  theory  was  first  placed  in  relation  to  parallel 
theories  and  practice,  the  really  inevitable  inference  has  gained 
increasing  recognition  :  P^  is  later  than  Ezekiel :  the  existence 
of  a  Levitical  caste,  separate  and  distinct  from  the  priestly, 
was  unknown  to  the  Mosaic  age,  unknown  even  to  the  age 
of  Josiah :  it  belongs  alike  in  theory  and  practice  to  the  post- 
exilic  age. 

So,  e.g..  We.  Proleg.  c.  iv. ;  Kue.  Hex.  §  3  n.  16,  §  11  n.  13  f.,  §  15  n.  15, 
and  esp.  Abhandlungen,  465-500  =  (  77?.  Ti.  1890,  pp.  1-42)  ;  Konig,  Offen- 
hariingsbegriff  (\%%z),  ii.  322 ff;  Driver,  L.O.T.  139 ff.;  CH.  i.  127 f.  So 
far  as  the  inference  as  to  practice  is  concerned,  others  {e.g.  Di.,  Baudissin) 
agree  ;  but  they  argue  for  a  pre-Deuteronomic  existence  in  a  then  un- 
published writing  (P)  of  the  theory  of  distinct  priestly  and  Levitical 
castes.  This  view  as  elaborated  by  Baudissin  in  his  Gesch.  des  AT Priester- 
thums  was  criticised  by  Kue.  in  the  article  cited  above.  Baudissin  has 
lately  reiterated  his  arguments  for  the  pre-Deuteronomic  origin  of  P  in  an 
extremely  lucid  and  less  encumbered  form  in  his  Einleitutig,  pp.  96-102, 
139-170,  but  he  has  in  no  way  parried  Kue.'s  criticism.  For  defences  of 
the  traditional  view  on  this  matter  it  must  suffice  to  refer  to  S.  I.  Curtiss, 
The  Levitical  Priests  (Edinburgh,  1877),  and  A.  van  Hoonacker,  Le  Sacer- 
doce  Livitique  dans  la  Loi  et  dans  VHistoire  des  Hdbreux  (Louvain,  1899). 

Not  only  does  P^  differ  from  Ezekiel  in  making  the  sacred 
non-priestly  Levites  an  ancient  institution,  but  also  in  regard- 
ing the  position  of  the  Levites  as  the  very  reverse  of  a  degra- 
dation:  it  is  an  honour  (i^*'~^^) :  they  are  chosen  freely  by 
God,  not,  indeed,  to  the  highest  position,  but  to  the  next 
highest.  They  are  superior  to  all  except  the  priests,  and 
hence  encamp  immediately  round  the  tabernacle  between  it 
and  the  other  tribes;  cp.  also  on  c.  16.  18. 


III.  s-10  25 

As  in  the  case  of  the  priesthood,  and,  indeed,  of  the  nation 
itself,  so  of  the  Levites,  no  reason  is  given  for  the  choice ; 
the  divine  choice  is  made  freely;  the  distinction  is  not  con- 
ferred for  any  merit.  In  this  respect  P^  perhaps  differs  from 
earlier  writers  :  cp.  Ex.  3226-28^  Dt.  lo^  (with  Dr.'s  note)  33^. 

According-  to  3^^"^^,  it  is  true,  Levi  is  chosen  as  a  substitute 
for  the  firstborn,  to  which  Yahweh  had  a  claim ;  but  while 
these  verses  assign  a  reason  why  a  tribe  had  to  be  set  apart, 
they  assign  none  why  that  tribe  was  Levi. 

5-10.  The  Levites  in  relation  to  Israel  and  the  priests. — 
5.  Unto  Moses]  Throughout  this  c.  the  command  is  given 
to  Moses  alone;  see  v.^^- 1^- ^- *S  cp.  v. i^- 42. 51^  ct.  39;  in  c.  4 
several  times  to  Moses  and  Aaron  (v.^-  ^'^,  cp.  v.^"^-  ^^-  ^^) ; 
yet  also  to  Moses  only  (v. 2^,  cp.  37.45. 40j^ — g_  Bring  near\  have 
brought  to  thee,  Ex.  28^.  The  technical  sense  (16^  n.)  is  not 
intended  here. — They  shall  serve  him]  Aaron,  i.e.  the  priests. 
The  verb  m^  is  always,  when  used  of  the  Levites,  limited  by 
an  object,  which  is  either,  as  here  and  18-,  the  priests,  or  the 
assembly  (16®),  or  the  tabernacle  {1^);  on  the  other  hand,  of 
the  priest,  the  verb  is  used  absolutely,  3^1,  Ex.  28^^  etc. ;  cp. 
Baudissin,  Prieslerlhtim,  29. — 9.  Aaron  and  his  sons]  i.e.  the 
priests:  the  fuller  phrase  for  ** Aaron,"  v.*.  The  gift  of 
the  Levites  to  the  priests  by  the  Israelites  is  indirect :  they 
are  immediately  given  to  Yahweh,  v.*"*-,  and  by  Him  to  the 
priests :  this  is  elaborately  explained  in  S^^"^''. — To  hitn]  i.e. 
Aaron;  cp.  v.^  n.  (5  S  read  **to  me," /.e.  Yahweh ;  cp.  8^^ 
18^. — 10.  Aaron  and  his  sons  ihon  shall  appoint]  ffi  +  over 
the  tent  of  meeting. — And  they  shall  guard  their  priesthood]  ffi 
-{•and  everything  about  the  altar  and  within  the  veil',  cp.  18''^ 
1^.  The  addition  probably  goes  back  to  a  Hebrew  original, 
since  G  differs  in  18^. — The  stranger]  here  =  any  one  not  a 
priest ;  in  the  present  context  the  term  includes  and,  indeed, 
specially  refers  to  Levites ;  cp.  1"  n. 

6.  '33^  imoym]  'jejS  Tcyn  Gn.  47'  and  12  other  times  in  the  Hexateuch 
of  a  formal  or  ceremonial  setting-.  This  particular  phrase  is  in  the 
Hexateuch  peculiar  to  P:  but  see  11^*,  Ex.  <^^  (JE) ;  cp.  CH.  141''. — 
9.  rxD  -h  non]  S  and  some  Heb.  MSS.  lino  '"?  on  ;  cp.  8'^ — d':iiu  D':in:]  for 
the  repetition,  here,  perhaps="  wholly  given,"  see  G.-K.  123c. — hnd]  = 
"  on  the  part  of,"  frequently  (though  not  exclusively)  in  P :  BDB.  865. 


26  NUMBERS 

11-13.  The  Levites  taken  by  Yahweh  in  satisfaction  of  His 
claim  to  the  firstborn. — This  point  of  view  is  hardly  identical 
with  that  of  v.^^°;  moreover,  the  substance  of  the  present 
section  would  more  naturally  have  been  incorporated  in  the 
preceding"  if  both  sections  were  from  the  same  hand.  Paterson 
may  therefore  be  right  in  attributing-  v.'^^"^^,  together  with  the 
allied  passages  v.**^'-  *^,  to  another  hand,  though  whether  there 
is  sufficient  reason  for  deriving-  the  verses  (at  least  in  their 
present  form;  cp.  v.^-  n.)  from  H  is  more  doubtful;  yet  note 
"  I  am  Yahweh,"  v.^^.  41.46.  gee  n.  on  v.^^ 

The  sanctity  of  the  firstborn  and  their  need  for  redemption 
therefrom  are  recognised  alike  by  the  early  and  the  later 
Hebrew  laws,  Ex.  22=3 (29)  g^isf.  (je)  132  (p).  It  is  subse- 
quently provided  in  P  that  henceforward  every  male  at  a  month 
old  is  redeemable  at  5  shekels,  18^^ ;  cp.  3*°*-  The  Levites 
are  substitutes  only  for  those  above  a  month  old  at  the  time. 

In  representing-  the  firstborn  a?  subject  to  redemption  in 
the  wilderness,  P  differs  from  J,  who  dates  the  claim  from 
the  entrance  Into  Canaan,  Ex.  13^^'* 

According  to  Rabbinic  theory  before  the  time  when  the  tabernacle  was 
erected,  priestly  functions  were  discharged  by  the  firstborn  ;  Z'bahim  14'', 
2r^°"  on  Ex  24'  (cp.  C^°  ib.)\  cp.  Rashi  on  the  present  passage.  Some 
modern  scholars  have  considered  that  a  similar  theory  underlies  this 
passage  ;  and  some  even  infer  that  the  theory  (cp.  Ex.  22"*  (®))  corresponds 
to  fact,  that  the  firstborn  in  early  Israel  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  devoted 
to  priestly  duties.  So,  recently,  Baudissin,  Priesterthum^  .55-57  >  Smend, 
ATReJigionsgeschichte^  276,  ^282.  But  (i)  the  fact  that  Samuel,  a  first- 
born, is  dedicated  to  the  temple-service  by  a  special  vow ;  (2)  that  Jud. 
17'  (?  cp.  I  S.  7^)  appears  to  regard  any  son  indifferently  as  available 
for  priestly  functions  ;  and  (3)  the  indications  that  in  early  times  the 
priesthood  vested  rather  in  the  father  (cp.  the  ritual  of  Passover,  Ex.  12. 
jjSff.  .  a,-,d  father  =  priest,  Jud.  17'")  do  not  favour  \hQ.  fact  of  a  priest- 
hood of  the  firstborn  ;  cp.  EBi.  "  Family,"  §  2  ;  "  Firstborn."  Further,  it 
seems  improbable  that  P?,  who  does  not  recognise  the  existence  of  sacrifice 
among  the  Hebrews  before  the  erection  of  the  tabernacle,  considered  that 
the  firstborn  had  ever  been  devoted  to  sacred  service.  H  may  conceiv- 
ably have  held  the  theory. 

12b.  Cp.  Ex.  13^  (P).  So  in  v.^'  the  first  clause  and 
1  hallowed  unto  me  every  fiistbom  in  Israel  both  of  man 
and  beast,  much  more  closely  resemble  the  phraseology  of 
Ex.    132  than   Ex.   13^-'-  (JE).     On  the  other  hand,  P  in  Ex, 


III.  11-23  27 

knows  nothings  of  the  assertion  here  made  in  clause  a,  that 
Yahweh's  claim  to  the  Hebrew  firstborn  is  based  on  His 
sparing-  of  the  Hebrew  firstborn  when  He  slew  the  firstborn 
of  Eg-ypt.  For  this  view,  see  Ex.  13^*'-, — a  passagfe  not  earlier 
in  origin,  perhaps,  than  the  Deuteronomic  school. 

13.  I  hallowed  unto  Me]  i.e.  declared  them  to  be  my  posses- 
sion ;  anything  belonging  to  or  standing  in  a  special  relation 
to  Yahweh  is  holy,  anything  claimed  by  Him  thereby  becomes 
holy  or  "is  hallowed";  see  Baudissin,  Studien,  ii.  63. — /<z;« 
Vahweh]  a  formula  specially  characteristic  of  H  ;  occasionally 
also  in  P,  e.g.  Ex.  6^  12^2.  ^p^  L.O.T.  49,  CH.  179,  203^ 

12.  r^n  '3n]  i8«-8,  Gn.  6"  9^  \f,  Ex.  14"  31^8  (all  P).  — 'b"  '33d]  S 
and  some  Heb.  MSS.  'e^'  '333 ;  so  «• «  S'^,  Ex.  132  ^^.— D'i'?n  '!?  vm]  S  (5 
prefix  VTf  D.Tnsi  :  cp.  v.*^-  *8. 

14-39.  The  census  of  male  Levites  above  a  month  old  com- 
manded and  carried  out. — V.^^'-  the  command;  v. '^^  summary 
statement  of  its  execution  ;  v.^'^"^*'  enumeration  of  the  Levitical 
families. 

14.  In  the  wilderness  of  Sinai\  i^n. — 15.  By  their  fatheri 
houses^  by  their  families]  i^n.;  the  phrases  occur  in  this  order 
4-'^ ;  more  frequently,  as  here  also  in  S,  in  the  reverse  order, 
as  1 2*-^  and  throughout  1.42.29.34.33.42^46 — Every  male  froin 
a  month  old  and  upward]  corresponding  to  firstborn  children 
liable  to  redemption ;  a  firstborn  child  under  a  month  old  or  of 
the  female  sex  was  not  subject  to  redemption. — 16.  Moses] 
G-|-'*and  Aaron,"  cp.  v.^^,  and  see  i^  first  n. — 17-20.  =  Ex. 
gi6-i9^  cp.  Gn.  46^^.  The  three  main  divisions  of  the  Levites 
are  the  same  in  Nu.  26^'^,  but  the  subdivisions  v.^^  diff"er. 

21-26.  The  G-ershonites  number  7500,  and  encamp  W.  of  the 
tabernacle.  Their  prince  is  Eliasaph  the  son  of  La'el,  and  their 
charge  the  tabernacle,  the  tent,  its  covering,  the  curtain  before 
the  entrance  of  the  tent,  the  hangings  of  the  court,  the  curtain 
of  the  entrance  to  the  court,  the  altar  and  its  cords. — 22.  On 
the  constant  change  from  narrative  {e.g.  v,^-)  to  command  (v. 2^) 
in  v.22~^^,  see  above,  p.  2  f. — Even  those  that  were  numbered  of 
them]  this  second  DrT'TlpSI  should  be  omitted  with  S  :  perhaps  it 
has  been  accidentally  transposed  from  v.  2^,  from  which  it  is  now 
missing  in  H. — 23.  Westwards]  on  this  and  the  other  positions, 


28  NUMBERS 

see  above,  p.  i8. — 24.  EUasaph  son  o/La'ei]  the  list  of  six  names 
contained  in  \.^^-  ^^-  ^^  does  not  appear  to  be  ancient :  for  all  are 
compounds,  and  five  are  compounded  with  El;  see  p.  6f.,  and 
thephil.  notes  below. — 25.  The  tabernacle]  since  the  framework 
of  the  tabernacle  (the  boards,  bars,  etc.)  fall  to  the  charge  of  the 
Merarites,  v.^^,  all  that  can  be  here  intended  are  the  curtains  re- 
ferred to  in  Ex.  26^~^ ;  this  is  clearly  indicated  in  4-^. — The  te?it] 
made  of  curtains  raised  over  the  tabernacle,  Ex.  26'^*^-. —  The 
covering  thereof  \  the  covering  of  the  tent  made  of  rams'  skins, 
Ex.  26^*. — The  screen  for  the  door  of  the  tent]  Ex.  26^^. — 26.  The 
hanging  for  the  court  and  the  screen  for  the  door  of  the  court]  Ex. 
2*79-16^ —  Which  is  by  the  tabernacle,  and  by  the  altar  round  about] 
i.e.  which  (viz.  the  court)  encloses  the  tabernacle  and  the  altar 
(of  burnt-offering-). — And  the  cords  of  it]  the  pronoun  probably 
refers  to  the  tent.  These  cords  can  scarcely  be  distinguished 
from  those  assigned  to  Merari,  v.^^,  and  the  double  assignment 
may  be  due  to  an  oversight  of  the  writer.  The  cords  are  the 
tent  ropes  fastened  to  pins  and  so  supporting  the  goats'  hair 
curtain,  or  tent-material:  cp.  Ex.  35^^39***;  see  Introd.  §  11. — 
As  regards  all  the  service  thereof]  the  Gershonites  are  to  do 
whatever  these  things  require  to  have  done  to  them. 

27-32.  The  Kohathites  number  8600,  and  encamp  S.  of  the 
tabernacle.  Their  prince  is  Elisaphan  b.  'Uzzi'el,  and  their 
charge  the  ark,  the  table,  the  lamp-stand,  the  altars,  the  sacred 
utensils,  and  the  veil. 

28.  Hebrew  idiom  requires  the  restoration  with  %  at  the 
beginning  of  the  verse  of  "and  those  that  were  numbered  of 
them  "  ;  cp.  v. ^2.  34^  ^j^q  ^.j^g  ^^  ^^  y  22^ — Keeping  the  charge  of 
the  sanctuary]  appears  to  be  out  of  place  here,  and  accidentally 
repeated  from  v.^^. — Six  hundred]  a  textual  error  {^^  for  zh^) 
for  three  hundred:  see  on  v.^^. — 29.  Along  the  side  of  the  taber- 
nacle southwards]  cp.  v.^^,  ct.  v.^^-^.  The  term  "side"  is 
introduced  in  connection  with  the  longer  dimensions  of  the 
tabernacle  which  were  N.  and  S.  (Ex.  zG^^-) ;  so  Ex.  40^2-2^. — 
31.  The  altars]  S  2i:°  the  altar.  The  pi.  in  f^  includes  (i)  the 
altar  described  in  Ex.  27^^-,  and  subsequently  called,  for  sake  of 
distinction,  the  altar  of  burnt-offering  {e.g.  Ex.  38^),  and  (2)  the 
golden  altar  of  burnt  incense  (Ex.  30^"^°);  cp.  Introd.  §  11.— < 


III.  25-39  29 

Wherewith  they  minister^  the  subject  is  *'  those  who  minister" 
{i.e.  the  priests ;  cp.  n.  on  v.^) ;  cp.  Dav.  108.  i. — The  screen] 
the  curtain  which  separated  the  holy  place  from  the  holy  of  holies 
(Ex.  26^^"^),  and  is  elsewhere  called  either  "the  veil"  (n^is) 
simply  (Ex.  263i-  33-  35  2721  306  3625  3327  ^qS.  22.  26^  Lev.  4!^  i62- 12.  i5 
2i23),or  "the  veil  of  the  sanctuary"  (Lev.  4^),  or  "the  veil  of  the 
testimony"  (Lev.  24^),  or  "the  veil  of  the  screen"  ("iDOn  DDIS 
Ex.  35^2  3g3i  ^o2i,  Nu.  4^  18'^),  the  particular  sense  of  the  last 
phrase  being  explained  by  Ex.  4o3-  21.  Probably  vi^e  should 
read  here  with  S  "  the  veil  of  the  screen  "  as  in  4^  The  present 
ambiguity  with  the  screens  mentioned  in  v. 25^-  then  disappears. 
The  tendency  to  amplification  in  these  chapters  is  illustrated 
here  by  S,  which  adds  after  "the  screen"  the  words  "the 
laver  and  its  base"  (cf.  Ex.  30^^).  The  same  addition  is  made 
in  4I*  by  both  S  and  ffi.— 32.  The  statement  that  Ele'azar 
was  chief  prince  of  Levi  presumably  finds  Its  place  here 
because  Ele'azar  belonged  to  the  family  of  Kohath,  Ex.  6^^~25^ 
Di.  considers  the  verse  a  later  addition ;  see  phil.  n.  below. 

33-37.  The  Merarites  number  6200,  and  encamp  to  the  N.  of 
the  tabernacle.  Their  prince  is  Suri'el  b.  Abihail,  their  charge 
the  framework  of  the  tabernacle,  viz.  its  boards,  bars,  pillars, 
sockets ;  and  the  pillars,  sockets,  pins,  and  cords  of  the  court. 

In  this  section,  unlike  the  two  preceding,  the  mention  of 
the  prince  precedes  that  of  the  position  in  the  camp. 

34.  Six  thousand  two  hundred]  ffit  6050. — 35.  On  the  side  of] 
v. 29  n. — 36  f.  On  the  various  objects  forming  the  charge  of  the 
Merarites,  see  Ex.  sG^sff- 26ff.  32. 37  zG^oa.  ^foe.  f^e  tenons, 
rings,  and  hooks  in  Ex.  26^^*  ^^-  ^2  are  probably  here  included  in 
the  general  term  accessories  (lv3).    Cp.  4^2. — Their  cords]  v.^^  n. 

38.  The  priests  encamp  on  the  E.  of  the  tabernacle,  thus 
guarding  Its  entrance  (Ex.  26^^20^^ — Before  the  tabernacle 
eastx'oards]  ffir omits;  but  cp.  ■^x\. — Aaron  and  his  sons,  i.e.  the 
priests,  are  described  as  those  who  paid  attention  to  what 
required  to  he  attended  to  in  the  sanctuary,  including  every- 
thing that  had  to  be  attended  to  for  the  children  of  Israel:  the 
last  clause  is  naturally  limited  to  the  sacrificial  requirements 
of  the  Israelites. — The  stranger]  v.'*'  n. 

39.  The  sum  total  of  male   Levites  above  a  month  old  is 


30  NUMBERS 

22,000.  The  separate  numbers  given  In  v.-'-  "^-  ^^  give  a  total 
of  22,300.  That  the  actual  total  intended  by  the  writer  was 
22,000  (not  22,390)  is  clear  from  v.*°"^^.  The  error  is  in 
v.^^  (see  note  there).  The  error  is  an  early  one  :  for  ^  agrees 
with  ffc^  in  v.^^.  Many  Jewish  and  some  modern  commen- 
tators {€.£:  Speaker's  Comm?)  assume  that  the  three  hundred 
not  included  in  the  total  were  firstborn,  and,  therefore,  not 
available  for  redeeming  the  firstborn  of  the  secular  tribes  ;  but 
the  text  saj^s  nothing  of  this,  and  three  hundred  would  be  a 
ridiculously  small  proportion  of  firstborn  to  the  whole  number. 
— And  Aaron\  S  S  and  some  Heb.  MSS.  omit.  The  points  in 
MT.,  already  referred  to  in  Siphre  on  9^**,  mark  the  words  as 
suspicious,  and  a  comparison  with  v.^^"^^  tells  against  their 
originality  :  cp.  i^  n. 

16.  ntS'D  <&  +  pnsi. — r\Vi\  S  invi  (cp.  20"  pj) ;  ffi  (cp.  17)  a-wira^ev  airols 
Ki^ptos :  cp.  36^  n. — 20.  'iVn]  so  also  in  v.^"  18-^  26^'^,  Dt.  10^  Jos.  13^*-  *^ ;  in  all 
these  passages  the  whole  tribe  is  referred  to.  The  use  of  the  art.  with  a 
tribal  name  is  rare  (Dr.  on  Dt.  3^^;  Konig-,  iii.  2g^de)  ;  it  is  facilitated  in 
the  case  of  Levi  by  the  gentilic  form  ;  the  word  is,  indeed,  often  used  with 
unambiguously  gentilic  force  {e.^.  Dt.  12^^,  Jud.  17'').  VV.  render  by  a 
pi.  both  here  and  in  v.*^ :  in  the  latter  verse  S  reads  D'i'?.n. — 2i,  'JB'n:;'?]  G 
'ja'nj.T  nnSE'D'?,  cp.  v.^"-  ^  ||J. — ''p'hi<]  i^^  n. — hah]  if  rightly  read,  probabl}'  a  late 
name;  HPN.  206 f.  ;  G^''^  AaiyX,  ffi'-  AaovijX,  S>  3N''p.s*.— 26.  imny  h^'?]  this 
use  of  7  is  specially  characteristic  of  P  and  Ch.;  see  BDB.  514^;  in 
Y_3i.  36  'y  l,2i_ — 27.  n.ip^i]  the  1  is  dittographic  :  cf.  v.^^-^^:  also  i^s- 24  gtc. — 
30.  Ifl^''?^]  for  the  name  (=  "(my)  God  has  sheltered"),  cp.  34-®  (P);  it  is 
probably  an  ancient  name,  cp.  HPN.  176 f.,  192. — '?N'tj;]="a  (my)  strength 
is  God."  This  and  other  names  containing  'Jj;,  iij;,  etc.,  are  common  in  the 
later  OT.  writings ;  see  the  appendices  to  HPN.  under  !?N')y,  Ss-'ii/',  r\-\^, 
nniv,  'Tiy'}  and  n'ln,  also  ib.  pp.  210,  230.  For  earlier  usage  the  only  evi- 
dence is  the  name  of  king  Uzziah  who  was  also,  and  perhaps  originally, 
known  as  'Azariah,  in  the  8th  cent.,  and  v?v  on  an  ancient  Hebrew  seal ; 
Levy,  Siegel  u.  Gemmen,  39-42. — 31.  imay]  S  <&  omnj?:  cp.  v.^"  ffi. — 
32.  'N'tyj  X'c:]  Dav.  34,  R.  4. — mps]  the  cstr.  would  be  easiest,  if  we  might 
assume  here  the  late  Heb.  use  of  the  form  to  denote  the  holder  of  an 
office ;  cp.  n'?np  and  Dr.  Z.  O.  T.  466 ;  Strack  and  Siegfried,  Neuhebr. 
Gramm.  68c.  But  mps  nowhere  else  has  this  sense.  If  we  retain  the 
text  and  the  sense  which  the  word  has  elsewhere  in  these  chapters  (^ 
4^*),  we  must  assume  a  loose  cstr.  of  the  ace:  render  "with  the  charge 
of."  Paterson's  conjecture,  h^  lij?,  is  not  really  supported  by©. — 35.  '7^•'^^s] 
(  =  "a  (my)  rock  is  God");  on  the  type  of  name,  see  above,  p.  6. — '7'n'2N] 
ancient  type  of  name  (cp.  HPN,  22-34)  >  the  actual  instance  only  in  P  Ch. 
Esth. — 36.  'd  'J3  mCB-D  mpsi]  variations  in  v.-^-  ^]. 

40-51.  The  number  of  the  firstborn  Israelites  of  the  male 


III.  4!>-47  31 

sex  above  a  month  old  Is  22,273  >  of  these  22,000  are  redeemed 
by  the  22,000  Levites,  the  remainder  at  5  shekels  apiece. 
This  money  is  given  to  the  priests.  The  firstborn  cattle  of 
the  Israelites  is  redeemed  by  the  cattle  of  the  Levites. 

For  the  unreality  of  the  relation  between  the  firstborn  and 
the  adults,  see  above,  pp.  10-15. 

40.  T/iezr  names]  1^  n. — 41.  /«?«  VaMve/i]  v^^  n. — T/ie  cattle 
of  the  Levites  instead  of  all  the  firstborn  among  the  cattle  of  the 
children  of  Israel]  this  is  difficult,  for  the  firstborn  of  cattle  that 
could  be  offered  were  not  redeemable  (iS^^-^''').  It  is  question- 
able (with  Di.)  to  limit  "cattle"  here  to  unclean  cattle  (Lev. 
27-'',  Nu.  18^^).  Baudissin  {Pi-iesterthtivi^  42  f.)  thinks  this 
passage  later  than  the  law  requiring-  the  sacrifice  of  all  clean 
firstborn  and  of  a  period  when  that  demand  was  no  longer  satis- 
fied in  practice.  Possibly  we  should  assimilate  this  sentence  to 
v.'*^  by  transposing  non::  (omitting  the  prep.  3)  before  "1133  f)3  ; 
then  render  "the  cattle  of  the  Levites  instead  of  the  cattle  of 
all  the  firstborn  among  the  children  of  Israel " ;  the  firstborn 
and  all  their  belongings  are  regarded  as  properly  forfeit  to 
Yahweli ;  the  Levites  and  their  belongings  are  substituted  for 
them. — 45.  Their  cattle]  if  the  text  of  v.^^  be  correct  we  should 
expect  here  "the  firstborn  of  their  cattle,"  the  pronoun  refer- 
ring to  the  children  of  Israel.  If  the  suggestion  in  the  last  n. 
be  adopted,  the  pronoun  refers  to  the  firstborn  Israelites. — 
47.  The  fine  payable  for  redeeming  a  firstborn  of  men  is  5 
shekels,  i.e.  about  12  shillings  (a  shekel  =  2s.  5d.:  Kennedy 
in  Hastings'  DB.^  s.v.  "Money,"  iii.  422  f.). — Bj>  the  poll] 
1^  n.    With  clause  b  of  the  v.  cp.  Ex.  30^^. 

92.  nro]  C5^  +  piNi;  wx  da^  cm. — 56.  'ui  "na  nxi]  For  this  absolute  or 
pendent  ace.  cp.  Kon.  iii.  3410;  and  for  nnp"?!,  Dr.  Tenses,  §  123. — '•.1-19 
—also  v.^8'-"  iS'^;  both  the  ground  form  {kcitill)  and  the  plural  point  to 
an  abstract  meaning-  (Barth,  NB.  82^  ;  Kon.  iii.  261  ;  cp.  ii.  137  f.) ;  but  in 
this  particular  instance  the  word  must  have  acquired  a  secondary  concrete 
sense  (otherwise  Kon.  iii.  260^) :  it  does  not  mean  either  the  act  of 
ransoming  or  the  state  of  being  ransomed,  but  the  ransom-price  (Dietrich, 
Abh.  z.  hebr.  Gram.  41 ;  Ges.-Buhl,  "  Lose-geld  "). — D'sni'n]  The  root,  which 
appears  only  in  Kal  (Ex.  i623  26'-f-,  Lev.  25-^,  Nu.  3'*''- '*8'-)and  Hiph.(Ex.  16'^), 
is  in  OT.  confined  to  P ;  it  reappears  in  the  Mishnah. — 47.  n^'on  nr:;n]  For 
the  suspended  cstr.,  see  Dav.  28,  R.  6 ;  for  the  repetition,  Dav.  29,  R.  8  (2). 
— 48.    mc]  resumes  and  defines  r,CDn.  —  49.  DVijn]  if  the  text  be  right. 


32  NUMBERS 

a  parallel  form  in  B  to  j^n?  (Ex.  21^,  Ps.  49'):  Lag-arde,  Bildung  cU 
Nominay  186,  204.  But  probably  the  same  form  was  orig-inally  read  here 
as  in  v.^^**^  ;  so  S  cnsn. — D'l^n  "ns]  "ns  is  here  the  pass,  part.,  which  is, 
however,  used  with  a  different  meaning-  from  niiT  "n£3  Is.  SS^**. — 51.  onrn] 
The  K'tib  may  be  pointed  n'T]?n,  on  which  see  v.*^n.;  K're  and  S  both 
read  plene  D'nsn,  cp.  v.**  n. 

I  v. — V.^~^  Levites  between  thirty  and  fifty  years  of  age 
to  be  numbered ;  the  transport  duties  of  the  Levites  defined ; 
y  S4r-49  results  of  the  census. 

1.  And  Aaron]  3'^n. ;  some  Heb.  MSS.  and  3E  J^  omit :  but 
see  de  Rossi's  note. 

2-20.  The  Kohathites. — In  c.  3  the  Gershonites,  here  the 
Kohathites,  are  first  dealt  with.  With  the  priority  given  to 
the  Kohathites  here,  cp.  their  superior  position  in  the  camp ; 
see  above,  p.  lyf. — 2b.  3^^  n. — 3.  The  census  here  required  is 
of  Levites  qualified  for  service  about  the  tabernacle.  It  thus 
corresponds  to  the  census  of  the  rest  of  Israel  (c.  i).  The 
same  word  (X3i)  is  used  in  both  chapters,  though  RV.  here 
renders  by  **  service,"  there  by  '*  war."  Originally  the  word 
had  reference  to  war  (see  phil.  n.) :  its  use  of  menial  service 
about  the  tabernacle  or  temple  is  late ;  for  the  verb  so  used, 
see  4-^  8^^,  Ex.  38^,  and  the  late  gloss  omitted  in  (S^  in  i  S.  2^2  ; 
and  for  the  noun,  besides  the  present  c,  8-**-  —  Two  other 
and  different  regulations  as  to  the  period  of  Levitical  service 
are  found  in  OT.  (i)  Instead  of  being  as  here  defined  from 
thirty  to  fifty  years  of  age,  it  was,  according  to  S^^^^e^  from 
twenty-five  to  fifty,  after  which  latter  age  a  Levite  might 
still  render  certain  auxiliary  services.  (2)  According  to  the 
Chronicler  (i  Ch.  232*- 27^  2  Ch.  31^',  Ezr.  3^),  from  the  time 
of  David  onwards  the  age  of  entrance  on  service  was  twenty, 
and  there  was  no  upward  limit  of  disability. 

The  simplest  way  of  accountingf  for  the  differences  would  be  to  assume 
that  they  correspond  to  actual  differences  in  the  ag^e  of  service  at  the 
different  periods  to  which  the  several  references  belong,  i.e.  that  in  the 
time  of  the  Chronicler  (r.  300  B.C.)  the  minimum  age  for  Levitical  service 
was  twenty,  and  that  at  different  times  between  about  500  and  300  B.C.  it 
had  been  twenty-five  and  thirty  respectively  :  so,  e.g.,  Kuenen,  Hex.  pp. 
93>  299;  cp.  Str.  on  8^^.  Another  view  (Baudissin,  Priesterthutn,  167 f.) 
is  that  the  minimum  of  twenty  years  was  actual,  but  that  P's  fixing  of  the 
minimum  at  thirty  is  part  of  his  historical  fiction,  and  due  to  his  making 
allowance  for  the  heavy  work  of  transport  (cp.  i  Ch.  23-^*-) ;  then  pos- 


IV.  1-4  33 

sibly  the  twenty-five  of  8"^"-*  is  simply  a  mean  struck  by  a  later  writer 
between  the  minimum  of  actual  practice  and  that  required  by  the  law.  Of 
harmonistic  explanations  it  must  suffice  to  mention  one:  the  regulation 
of  the  present  passage,  it  is  said,  is  merely  intended  to  be  temporary,  and 
has  regard  to  the  heavy  work  of  transport  ;  on  the  other  hand,  8-^"-'' 
contains  the  permanent  law  regulating  the  years  of  service  in  and  about 
the  tabernacle,  but  not  in  the  transport  of  it  (so  Keil).  But  this  is  to 
disregard  the  similarity  in  the  definition  of  service  in  the  two  passages, 
and  to  limit  unwarrantably  the  meaning  of  the  expressions  used  in  the 
present  chapter — "  all  who  enter  into  the  service  to  do  work  (hdn'^d  nicy^)  in 
the  tent  of  meeting"  v.^ :  "  to  perform  work  (m^j;  iDj;"?)  in  the  tent  of  meet- 
ing," v.^;  "  to  perform  the  work  of  (maynN  nay"?)  the  tent  of  meeting,"  v. ^^ ; 
"  all  who  worked  in  the  tent  of  meeting,"  v.^''.  ffi  throughout  this  chapter 
substitutes  "  twentj'-five  "  for  "thirty,"  thus  assimilating  the  present  pas- 
sage to  8-^'^®.  The  reason  for  doing  this,  rather  than  correcting  8^^"-^  to 
agree  with  the  present  chapter,  would  be  clear  if  we  could  assume  that 
"twenty-five"  was  the  actual  age  of  service  at  the  time  of  the  Greek 
Version.  Is  8^^'^®  later  than  Chronicles  ?  and  was  the  age  which  had  been 
lowered  from  thirty  to  twenty  between  the  times  of  Ezra  and  the  Chronicler 
on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  Levites  (cp.  Kue.  loc.  cit.),  once  again  raised 
subsequently  to  twenty-five  when  the  number  of  Levites  had  been  increased 
by  the  assimilation  of  the  singers  and  others  (cp.  We.  Proleg.'^  p.  145)? 
The  data  are  insufficient  for  a  decisive  answer. 

4.  The  most  holy  things]  the  phrase  D^B^ipn  trnp,  which  is 
variously  appHed  (frequently,  e.g..,  to  the  inner  part  of  the 
tabernacle,  Ex.  26^^)  refers  here,  as  the  following-  vv.  ex- 
plain, to  the  furniture  and  instruments  of  the  tabernacle : 
cp.  Ex.  30^^.  See,  further,  Baudissin,  Studien,  ii.  52-54. — 
5  ff.  The  most  holy  things  which  the  Kohathites  had  to  carry 
fall  into  six  groups :  all  alike,  before  the  camp  moved,  had  to 
be  covered  up  by  the  priests  that  the  Kohathites  might  not  see 
them,  and  were  then  so  carried  by  the  Kohathites  that  they 
did  not  actually  touch  the  sacred  objects  themselves.  The  six 
groups  of  most  holy  things  are  as  follows: — (i)  the  ark,  v.^ ; 
(2)  the  table  of  the  presence,  its  utensils  (Ex.  25^^),  and  the 
perpetual  bread,  v.^;  (3)  the  candlestick  and  the  utensils 
connected  with  it,  v.^;  (4)  the  golden  altar,  v.^^;  (5)  the 
utensils  of  ministration  ...  in  the  sanctuary,  v.^^;  (6)  the 
altar  (of  burnt-offering),  and  the  vessels  and  instruments 
attached  to  it,  v.^^*-.  These  various  things,  or  groups  of 
things,  were  all  alike  packed  in  a  wrapping  of  ^^ tahash" 
skin  (v.^-  2-  ^°-  ^"- 1^-) ;  and,  in  every  case  except  that  of  the  ark, 
this  wrapping  formed  the  outer  covering.    On  the  other  hand. 


34  NUMBERS 

the  ark  was  first  covered  with  the  veil  (see  on  3^^),  then  with  the 
^^  iahash  skin"  wrapping,  and,  finally,  with  a  cloth  of  blue 
(v.^).  Thus,  on  the  march,  the  blue  outer  covering-  at  once 
distinguished  the  ark  from  all  the  other  sacred  objects.  All 
the  rest  of  the  (main)  objects  except  the  altar  of  burnt-offering, 
whose  inner  covering  was  a  purple  cloth,  v.^^,  were  first 
wrapped  in  blue  cloth,  v.'^*  ^-  ^^'  ^2.  The  table  of  presence,  like 
the  ark,  had,  in  all,  three  wrappings.  It  was  covered  with 
the  blue  cloth,  then  the  vessels  attached  to  it  were  packed  on 
it  and  the  whole  wrapped  in  a  scarlet  cloth,  and,  finally,  in  the 
^^ tahash  skin"  wrapping.  The  motive  for  these  differences, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  bright  external  covering  of  the  ark,  is 
not  obvious.  The  candlestick  and  the  objects  connected  with 
it  and  the  vessels  of  ministration  were  carried  on  frames  speci- 
ally provided  for  them,  v.^**-  ^'.  The  remaining  objects  were 
carried  by  means  of  the  staves  with  which  they  had  been 
provided  at  the  time  of  making. — 6  Tahash-skiii]  the  precise 
meaning  of  the  Heb.  phrase,  skin  of  tahash,  is  uncertain.  The 
ancient  versions  incorrectly  took  tahash  to  be  a  colour.  From 
the  time  of  the  scholars  of  the  Talmud  downwards  it  has  been 
customary  to  see  in  tahash  the  name  of  an  animal ;  if  this  be 
right,  some  marine  animal  of  the  dolphin  kind  seems  most 
probable  ;  in  Arabic  ttchas  =  '*  a  dolphin."  Recently  it  has  been 
suggested  that  the  word  is  a  loan  from  the  Egyptian  ths  ■=■ 
"  Egyptian  leather."  *  Since  the  OT.  waiters  who  refer  to  this 
skin  are  Ezekiel  and  P,  it  may  be  an  article  with  the  use  of 
which  the  Jews  first  became  familiar  in  exile. — And  shall  put 
in  the  staves  thereof  \  so  RV.  ;  if  this  means  that  the  staves 
were  removed  during  packing  and  then  again  placed  through 
the  rings  (Ex.  25^*),  for  which  holes  could  be  made  in  the 
wrappings,  it  conflicts  with  Ex.  25^^,  which  forbids  the  removal 
of  the  staves :  such  a  conflict  is  perfectly  possible,  for  the 
two  passages  are  doubtless  from  different  hands.  But  the 
vb.  D''tJ>  is  of  a  general  significance,  and  certainly  might   be 

*  For  various  sugfgestions,  see  Fried.  Delitzsch  in  Baer's  Eseh.  p. 
xvif,,  and  Proleg.  77  ff.;  Nold.  in  ZDMG.  xl.  732;  Lewysohn,  Zoologie 
des  Talm.  95-98,  152  ;  Toy's  note  in  Ezekiel  (SBOT.  Eng;.),  123-126  ;  and 
lor  an  excellent  summary,  art.  "  Badger"  in  EBi. 


IV.  6-16  35 

rendered  "  adjust " ,  but  could  any  **  adjustment "  of  poles  under 
three  wrappings  make  them  convenient  for  holding? — 7.  The 
table  of  the  presence]  RV.  in  rendering  "...  of  sheivbread'" 
assumes  that  the  unique  phrase  D''3Dn  \rv'^  is  an  abbreviation 
of  D'JSn  Dn^  'CJ'.  This  is  unnecessary ;  it  may  well  mean  the 
table  of  the  face  or  presence  of  Yahweh.  On  the  table,  see  Ex. 
2^23ff.^ — jy^^  Wishes  and  the  cups  and  the  cans  and  the  howls]  see 
Ex.  25^^,  where  the  last  two  articles  are  mentioned  in  reverse 
order.  For  the  present  order,  Ex.  37^^. — The  continual  bread] 
i.e.  the  shewbread  (Ex.  25^*^,  Lev.  24^"^).  The  phrase  Dn? 
Tonn  is  used  here  only,  but  is  readily  explained  by  Ex.  25^'^. 
— 8.  Its  staves]  Ex.  25^^. — 9.  Ex.  25^^"^^.  The  full  phrase,  the 
candlestick  of  the  light  ("ilNfOH  n~i3D),  is  only  found  here  and  in 
Ex.  35^*  (P®). — 10.  The  frame]  see  phil.  note. — 11.  The  golden 
altar]  Ex.  39^^40^-^'^,  i.e.  the  altar  of  burnt  incense  (Ex.  30^^-) ; 
see  Introd.  §  11. — Its  staves]  Ex.  30*^*. — 12.  The  utensils  of  ser- 
vice] i.e.  the  utensils  used  by  the  priests  in  their  sacred  service, 
3^^  n. — 13.  The  altar]  of  burnt-offering,  Ex.  27^^-. — Its  staves] 
Ex.  27'^^-  At  the  end  of  the  verse  S  (5  add — "And  they  shall 
take  a  purple  cloth  and  cover  the  laver  and  its  base  [Ex.  30^"], 
and  they  shall  put  them  within  a  covering  of  tahash  skin, 
and  they  shall  put  them  on  the  frame."  The  addition,  w^ith 
which  cp.  3^^  n.,  was  naturally  suggested  by  such  catalogues 
as  Ex.  3o2S-29  3i7-9  35iiff.  ^o^-w^  Lev.  Sio^-.— 15.  Afterwards  the 
sons  of  Kohath  shall  come  to  carry  them ;  without,  however, 
touching  the  holy  thijigs,  and  so  suffering  death]  the  negative 
clause  is  not,  as  the  translations  usually  make  it,  adversative, 
but  circumstantial  (Dr.  Tenses,  §  159) ;  it  defines  the  manner 
in  which  the  Levites  are  to  carry  the  holy  things,  viz.  by 
the  staves  or  frames,  without  touching  the  sacred  objects 
themselves ;  cp.  18^.  For  the  mortal  effect  of  touching  a 
sacred  object,  cp.  2  S.  6^'-. — The  holy  things]  t;^'^p^  is  used 
collectively  of  sacred  objects,  the  more  precise  denotation  of 
the  term  being  suggested  by  the  context  (cp.  Lev.  5^^) :  so 
several  times  in  this  and  following  chapters,  v.^^-  '^^  7^  8^^. 
— 16.  Corresponds  to  the  briefer  statements  of  v.^^''-^'^''  that 
the  Gershonites  and  Merarites  were  under  the  general  super- 
vision of  Ithamar.     Ele'azar's  duties  consist  of  the  general 


36  NUMBERS 

oversight  of  the  tabernacle  and  all  its  sacred  objects,  and  the 
special  and  immediate  care  of  certain  things  that  are  specified, 
viz. — (1)  the  oil  for  the  light  (Ex.  27^*^) ;  (2)  the  incense  of  sweet 
perfume  (Ex.  25^  303*^-) ;  (3)  the  continual  meal-offerijig  (Neh. 
10^*),  which  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the  Pentateuch 
by  this  term,  but  is  identical  either  with  the  meal-offering 
that  accompanied  the  burnt-offering  which  was  offered  twice 
daily  (Ex.  29^-*o),  and  is  often  {e.g.  Nu.  2810,  Neh.  io33(34)) 
called  the  continual  burnt-ofTering  (T'^nn  n?!?),  or,  more  prob- 
ably, with  the  meal-offering  offered  daily  by  "the  anointed 
priest"  on  behalf  of  himself  and  the  other  priests  (Lev.  6^^~^^ 
(20-22)) .  (4)  ij^Q  anointing  oil  (Ex.  3o22ff-)._17-20.  An  ampli- 
fication in  the  form  of  a  direct  command  of  what  is  referred 
to  parenthetically  in  v.^^.  The  section  is  possibly  an  inter- 
polation :  it  is  marked  by  certain  stylistic  peculiarities  (see 
phil.  notes). — 20.  They  shall  not  see  the  sacred  things  .  .  .  and 
so  die]  for  the  mortal  effect  of  looking  at  a  sacred  object,  cp. 
I  S.  619. 

2.  Kiyi]  Inf.  abs.  with  imperative  force  (Dav.  885,  R.  2) ;  so  also  v.^' ; 
but  the  imperative  is  used  in  1^3'"^.  —  3.  H^^b  aj  h:i]  in  v.^"-^-*^-**  K3n  hz 
K^iih,  in  v.^*  (also  v.^  5)  N3s  ^}3¥^  K3.t  ^d  ;  (Sc  assimilates  the  phrase  in 
all  six  passages — ttSs  6  dairopevbuevo^  XeirovpyeXv.  The  ideas  of  fighting, 
army,  military  service  are  connected  with  the  root  H3s  over  so  wide  an 
area  of  the  Semitic  field  that  they  must  have  become  attached  to  it  at  an 
early  period.      The  Assyr.  ^dbu  means  "a  warrior,"  also   "an  army" 

(Del.);  Arabic   u^  =  "to  lie  in  wait  for,"  and  in  'Urwa,  3^  (cited  by 

Nold.  ZDMG.  xl.  726)  =  ^li  =  "to  make  a  raid"  ;  South- Arabian  N35  = 
"to  fight"  (Hommel,  Sild-Arab.  Chrest.  p.  125) ;  Eth.  Qf^i*!  =  "to  wage 
war."  From  this  alone  we  might  surmise  that  in  Heb.  the  sense  of 
"military  service"  was  early,  and,  since  the  use  of  the  root  for  service 
in  general,  or  liturgical  service  in  particular,  is  not  common  in  the  cog- 
nate languages,  that  the  use  of  the  word  for  the  service  of  the  tabernacle 
was  a  later  extension  of  the  meaning.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  tos  is  con- 
stantly used  in  connection  with  warfare  in  early  Hebrew  (cp.  e.g.  2  S. 
2^  10'',  Is.  31^);  it  retained  this  connotation  in  the  later  periods  of  the 
language  (see,  e.g.,  Zech.  14^^,  Nu.  i,  and  Ch.  passitn).  But  in  P  it  is 
also  frequently  used,  as  in  the  present  chapter,  of  service  about  the  taber- 
nacle (references  above).  It  is  one  of  several  interesting  instances  in 
which  terms  originating  in  the  early  and  more  warlike  periods  of  Hebrew 
history,  and  retaining  their  military  reference  down  to  the  close  of  the 
monarchy,  took  on  after  tlie  Exile  a  fresh  meaning,  in  consequence  of  the 
change  from  a  national  society  under  a  monarchy  to  a  religious  com- 


IV.  17-20  37 

munity  under  a  hierarchy.  Cp.  nynn  in  early  Hebrew="the  alarum  of 
war";  but  after  the  Exile  ="  the  sound  of  the  temple  trumpets":  cp. 
Nowack,  Arch.  ii.  no. — 5.  n3i]  Dr.  §  119/3. — 6.  'idd]  also  v.^^t,  in  S  also  in 
v.^  before  1J3  ;  cp.  Mand.  n"id3  (cited  by  Barth,  iz^d).  Synonyms  are  nc;a 
Gn.  8'^  (J)  and  15  times  in  P  (many  of  the  instances  in  secondary  strata) ; 
nDS.-D  Ezek.  27'',  Is.  14^^  23^^,  and,  in  a  special  sense  (cp.  Ex.  29'*),  Lev.  g^^f  ; 
and  niC3,  which  appears  to  have  been  the  form  in  common  use  in  earlier 
Heb.  (Gn.  20^"  E  ;  Ex.  21^"  22^^,  Dt.  22^^),  though  it  continued  in  use  in  and 
after  the  Exile  (Is.  50^  Job  2^  26^31'^+). — wnsi]  <&  S  QTand  one  or  two  Heb. 
MSS. +r'75;;  cf.  v.^  y£i.—rh:in  V''?|]  =  " wholly  blue"  (Dav.  24-^).— 10.  omn] 
v,'^  (and  in  the  addition  to  S  in  v.^'*),  13^*  and  (in  the  sense  of  "yoke") 
Nah.  i^-'f.  naiD  is  more  frequent,  and  is  used  specifically,  in  the  pi.,  of 
the  three  bars  (naiD)  of  which  a  yoke  consisted,  and,  in  the  singf.,  with 
primary  reference  to  the  most  important  part  of  the  yoke,  the  cross-bar 
(hdid).  Whatever  may  have  been  the  original  meaning-  of  aiD  (and  on  this 
cp.  Konig,  iii.  243^),  here  and  in  v.'^  the  context  requires,  and  in  13®  is 
best  satisfied  by,  a  word  meaning  something  with  a  considerable  flat 
surface  on  which  a  variety  of  objects  could  be  placed  and  carried.  <&  S 
render  "staff"  or  "pole,"  using  the  same  word  by  which  they  render  ona 
in  v.^  etc. — 12.  rrifn  '^s]  thus  here  only  ;  cp.  2  Ch.  24"  m'?ym  mv  -^■2.  On 
the  art.  with  the  infin.,  see  Konig,  iii.  241^. — 15.  mai]  Dr.  Tenses,  §  115, 
p.  133. — 16.  mps]  has  two  different  senses  in  the  same  v.,  (i)  things  com- 
mitted to  one's  oversight;  (2)  oversight.— 16.  v'?Dm  t^npn]  the  3  specifies 
the  parts,  viz.  the  holy  things  and  the  vessels  thereof  {i.e.  of  the  taber- 
nacle), of  which  the  whole  ("ib'n  V31  or  pB-Dn  So)  consists :  cp.  Gn.  7^^,  Ex. 
121",  Nu^  2j28^  aj^d  BDB.  p.  885.  The  usage  is  characteristic  of  P.— 18. 
innDn  hvi]  though  corresponding  phrases  with  the  Niph.  are  frequent  in  P 
{e.g.  Gn.  17I*,  Ex.  12^^)  and  specially  characteristic  of  H,  the  Hiph.  of  n"i3 
does  not  occur  in  P  proper ;  and  in  H,  where  we  find  it  four  times  in 
a  similar  sense  (Lev.  17^°  20*-  "•  ®),  the  subj.  is  always  Yahweh.  The 
following  V.  shows  that  we  must  understand  the  word  of  annihilation,  not 
simply  of  loss  of  Levitical  status,  as  the  D"i"7n  "jina  might  seem  to  imply  ; 
cp.  ^^n. — Tinpn  nhsro  ddij'  hn]  appositional  genitive,  Konig,  iii.  337c;  cp. 
G.-K.  128,  2.  The  use  of  Bnt?  is  remarkable.  Regularly  the  word  denotes 
one  of  the  main  tribes  of  Israel  {e.g.  Gn.  49'®,  Ex.  24^,  i  S.  10-") ;  cp.  n. 
on  i^.  Here  it  is  used  for  a  subdivision.  The  only  other  passages  that 
imply  such  an  usage  are  Jud.  20^-,  i  S.  9^^  which  speak  of  the  tribes 
('B3B')  of  Benjamin.  But  in  both  passages  the  pi.  is  probably  due  to  cor- 
ruption :  cp.  Moore  on  Jud.  20^^  (p.  430).  The  only  other  instances  of 
B3C  in  P  (who  regularly  uses  nan  ;  cp.  i"*  n.)  are  Ex.  28-^  39",  Nu.  18^  32^^ 
36*,  Jos.  4**^,  1329.33  a^j^j  21^®;  for  Bennett  is  no  doubt  right  in  assigning 
the  six  instances  of  £33^  in  Jos.  22  to  R ;  and  some  of  the  above  instances 
may,  probably  enough,  be  traced  to  the  same  origin :  cp.  18^  n. — nhaco 
'nnpn]  also  327.30  ^^  '^os.  21^' ^'^f:  cp-  'p'l  n-Bt^D  26^^;  a  variant  phrase  is 
nnp  '33  nhscD  3"^  Jos.  2i''"-2«,  i  Ch.  6'^t.— 19.  rm]  Driver,  Tenses,  §  112. 
— n«  cnti-Js]  I  S.  9^^  (but  not  i  S.  30^^  where  n.s*  =  with)  also  has  nx  for  Vx. 
But  in  both  passages  the  Versions  (and  here  S  and  many  Heb.  MSS. 
also)  are  probably  right  in  reading  '?^? ;  cp.  Dr.  on  1  S.  9^^ — imnj;  h';] 
ffi  om, — 20.  y'pas]  lit.    "for  ^e  likeness  of  a  swallowing"  (viz.  of  one's 


38  NUMBERS 

spittle,  cp.  Job  7^') — a  vivid  phrase  for  a  moment.     For  3  as  an  ace.  of 
time,  cp.  BDB.  4530:  b.     Somewhat  differently  Konlg-,  iii.  402/. 

21-28.  The  Gershonites. — 23.  Thou  shall  number  them\  the 
phrase  does  not  occur  in  the  preceding  section,  v.^,  and  is  in 
a  different  position  in  the  next,  v.^^.  On  some  other  varia- 
tions, cp.  the  notes  in  the  preceding"  section  ;  and  on  some 
minor  details,  see  phil.  notes  below.  —  25  f.  Cp.  3^^  n.  — 
25.  The  covering  of  tahash  skii{\  Ex.  26^^^:  this  is  not 
mentioned  in  3^^. — 26b.  All  that  may  have  to  he  done  "with 
regard  to  them  [i.e.  the  objects  just  mentioned)  they  (the 
Levites)  shall  perform. — 27b.  And  you  shall  appoint  to  them 
by  name  the  things  committed  to  their  charge  to  carry]  you  shall 
specify  In  detail  the  various  things  they  have  to  carry.  So 
after  ffir  and  v.^^  p?.  The  subj.  is  either  "  Aaron  and  his  sons  " 
mentioned  in  clause  a ;  or,  more  probably,  Moses  and  Aaron, 
this  passage,  like  the  rest  of  the  chapter,  having  been  origin- 
ally addressed  to  Aaron  as  vi^ell  as  Moses,  u^ho  alone  is  men- 
tioned in  v.2^ ;  then  the  v.  means  that  in  the  first  instance 
Moses  and  Aaron  are  to  specify  the  objects  committed  to 
the  Gershonites,  and  that  subsequently  the  priests  are  to  give 
all  further  directions. 

23.  '2  ni2]!  nnj?'?]  cp.  '3  n^ahn  mc-j;'?  v.';  m^y  rut  my!?  v.^". — 24.  nhr^'C 
':::nj,i]  so  'nnp.i  'a  v.^^- ^^  (see  note  on  former  v.),  but  ma  'J3  'd  v.^^. — 
N'-r'^i]  used  exactly  like  the  inf.  myV  :  cp.  yon  lo^,  and  see  G.-K.  45^, 
1 15^ ;  Ryssel,  De  EloMstcB  Sertnone,  50,  68 ;  Strack  on  this  passagfc, 
and  especially  Konig-,  iii.  233^. — 26.  lyti']  3"^  omits. — n^iyi]  On  the  general 
principle  of  Waw  conv.  with  pf,  after  various  introductory  phrases,  see 
Driver,  Tenses,  123  ;  but  instances  of  the  direct  obj.  thus  standing  before 
the  Waw  are  not  common ;  Ex.  4^^  with  repetition  of  the  obj.  is  rather 
different.— 28.  'jc-\:n  'ja]  i  Ch.  262't;  similarly  'nnpn  '33  only  v.^  and 
2  Ch.  29^^.  But  the  same  writer  sometimes  curiously  varies  the  different 
possible  idioms  in  the  same  verse,  cp.  2  Ch.  29^^:  see  also  phil.  note  on 
v,'^  ;  and  cp.  below,  v.'^-  ^^. 

29-33. — The  Merarites. — 29.  The  section  begins  more 
abruptly  than  the  two  preceding,  v.^-^^. — Thou  shall  number] 
ffi  "ye  shall  number,"  and  so  in  v.^°:  cp.  on  v.^'^. — 31  f. 
Cp.  3^'^^-. — 32b.  Cp.  v.-'^  n. — Including  all  their  accessories] 
(on^b  b^)  3^6  n. 

32.  '"73  nx]  S  G  -^2  ^2  n.v.     Note  also  the  expansions  of  v.^"-  in  ffi. 
34-49.  The  census. — On  the  numbers,  see  above,  pp.  10-15. 


IV.  21-v.  39 

— 34.  77ie  princes  of  the  congregation]  the  same  phrase,  of 
a  different  set  of  men,  in  16-,  Ex.  16^2.  ffi  here  has  '*the 
princes  of  Israel":  cp.  ^^  i"*  7^  n.  P^— 41.  At  the  end  of 
the  V.  (5  adds—"  by  the  hand  of  Moses  "  :  cp.  v.37-  «.— 49.  The 
V.  is  manifestly  more  or  less  corrupt,  and  cannot  be  intel- 
Hg-ibly  rendered :  RV.  is  not  a  translation,  especially  in 
clause  b.  Possibly  HE^'O  *T'2  has  fallen  out  of  place,  VpDI  is  a 
misplaced  fragment,  and  "ICN  an  error  for  "l:^'ND  (S  fflr  S) ; 
then  render  —  According'  to  the  commandtnent  of  Yahweh, 
by  the  hand  of  Moses,  they  were  appointed  every  one  to  his 
proper  sei-vice  and  burden,  as  Yahiveh  commanded  Moses. 
For  the  indef.  subj.  of  npD  see  Dav.  io8«,  and  for  ^y  npD  27'**. 

34.  n'a"?!]  V.88-'";  C  S  n-n^ :  cp.  v.2-«  lij.— 37.  nc'D  T3  '"•  'd  ^v]  <"•  'Q  S'j 
frequent  in  P,  uncommon  elsewhere  {L.O.T.  134,  No.  41).  Combined  with 
nra  T3,  it  is  entirely  peculiar  to  P — 4^''-  (^^  G)  ^  9-^  Io'^  Jos.  22'' f,  and, 
perhaps,  originally  in  v.^" ;  see  above.  Instead  of  nra  td,  3'"  has  n;i;  ne-Ni 
and  3*^  n&D  nx  '"'  nis  iB'.xa. — 46.  D'i'?n  hn]  For  the  noun  rather  than  the 
pronoun  completing  ir.x,  cp.  33S  Ex.  25";  Konig,  iii.  4145'. — 47.  K3n  VoJ 
S  +  K3it'> :  cp.  V.  *  n. 

V.  VI.   Miscellaneous  Laws  and  Regulations. 

(i)  Seclusion  of  unclean  persons  from  the  camp,  5^"^;  (2) 
some  priestly  dues,  v.^"®;  (3)  the  ordeal  of  jealousy,  v.^^"^^ ; 
(4)  the  Nazirite,  6^"2i ;  (5)  the  priestly  blessings,  vP--'^. 

The  first  of  these  sections,  all  of  which  are  introduced 
by  P's  characteristic  formula  (CH.  1850),  would  have  formed 
a  suitable  conclusion  to  the  description  of  the  camp  order, 
and  the  last  might  have  rounded  off  the  same  subject.  It 
is  not  impossible,  therefore,  that  both  formed  the  conclusion 
in  P^  of  the  desciption  of  the  camp  now  found  in  c.  1-4 ; 
though  some,  considering  it  merely  supplemental,  have 
referred  the  first  to  P^*  It  is  quite  improbable  that  any  of 
the  remaining  sections,  which  have  as  little  relation  to  the 
preceding  and  following  chapters  (7.  8.  g  or  10)  as  they 
have  to  one  another,  formed  part  of  P°  (Introd.  §  12);  5^8 
as  supplemental  to  Lev.  5^*^""^  (6^"'^)  is  P^;  the  rest,  by  no 
means  clearly  secondary  in  substance,  P\ 
*  Kue.  Hex.  91-93  ;  CH. 


40  NUMBERS 

1-4.  Every  one  that  is  leprous,  or  suffers  from  a  discharge, 
or  is  unclean  through  contact  with  the  dead,  is  to  he  secluded 
from  the  camp  in  order  to  preserve  the  sanctity  conferred  on  it 
by  Yahweh's  presence  undefiled  (cp.  Lev.  15^^)- — For  details 
as  to  uncleanness  from  leprosy,  see  Lev.  13 ;  from  discharges, 
Lev.  15 ;  from  contact  w^ith  the  dead,  Nu.  19.  All  three 
forms  of  uncleanness  are  contagious  (Lev.  13^5!.  jg^fif.^  -^^^  jg22^ . 
but  the  laws  (P")  just  referred  to  do  not  require  exclusion 
from  iAe  camp  except  in  the  case  of  leprosy  ;  and  the  clauses 
demanding  or  implying  exclusion  even  in  that  case  may  be 
editorial  additions  (so  Baentsch).  Some  {e.g.  Di.)  attempt 
to  account  for  the  greater  stringency  of  the  present  law  by 
assuming  that  the  laws  of  uncleanness  have  general  validity, 
but  that  this  law  applies  only  to  the  military  camp.  There 
is,  however,  no  justification  in  the  text  for  this  limitation, 
nor  does  the  reference  to  women  (v.^)  favour  it:  ct.,  moreover, 
the  terms  of  Dt.  23^*^^^^  "when  thou  goest  forth  {i.e.  to  war) 
as  a  camp."  But  it  is  true  that  the  Hebrews,  like  many  other 
peoples,*  were  subject  in  war  to  special  taboos,  including  regu- 
lations as  to  uncleanness  (Dt.  2&~^  ^-^^-^^i^-u) ^  j  g.  21^*-,  2  S. 
1 1^^"^^).  Reminiscences  of  such  actual  though  special  taboos 
may  have  furnished  the  writer  with  the  regulations  which  he 
here  represents  as  of  general  validity  in  the  wilderness  in  order 
to  heighten  his  picture  of  the  holiness  of  the  camp.  Leprosy 
in  general  involved  seclusion  (i2^°*-  (E)  2  K.  7^  15^) ;  seclusion 
from  the  military  camp  on  account  of  natural  discharges  is 
referred  to  in  the  references  above ;  and  some  local  or  special 
custom  in  ancient  Israel  may  well  have  required  the  seclusion 
of  women  at  menstruation,  who  fall  under  the  second  class 
of  unclean  persons  here  enumerated  (Lev.  15^^"^*);  for  the 
seclusion  of  such  is  widely  practised,  and  in  particular 
"  Maimonides  tells  us  that  down  to  his  time  it  was  a  common 
custom  in  the  East  to  keep  women  at  their  periods  in  a 
separate  house,"  f  just  as  the  leprous  Uzziah  was  kept. 

*  For  a  large  collection  of  parallels,  see  Schwally,  Semitische  Kriegs- 
alterthiifner,  59-99. 

t  Frazer,  Golden  Bough,  iii.  224  ;  for  similar  practices,  cp.  ib.  222  ft". ; 
also  Hal^vy  in  Revue  Sdmitique,  vii.  274.  The  reference  to  Maimonides 
is  Moreh  Nebuchim,  iii.  47, 


V.  1-6  4 1 

2.  in'?r'i  'c  '33  n.N*  is]  a  rare  formula :  cp.  Ex.  27*,  Lev.  24',  Jos.  4^^ 
Commoner  is  "jn  nm  followed  by  the  persons  addressed  and  Waw  with 
the  voluntative — Ex.  6"  14^-  ^^  25^  Lev.  16^  22^  Nu.  19^  (all  P) :  cp. 
Ex.  ii2  (E).— s^-s:^  ndb]  cp.  :i*2:  xap  Lev.  22^  (H),  Hag-.  2".  In  9^'*  the 
present  cstr.  is  repeated,  but  cs:  is  defined  by  din.  jtdj  in  these  phrases 
means  either  (i)  the  soul  of  the  dead  person,  or,  as  we  should  say,  the 
ghost — in  particular,  perhaps,  the  soul  tarrying  in  or  near  the  body  that 
has  ceased  to  breathe,  but  is  yet  unputrefied  (Schwally,  Das  Leben  nach 
dent  Tode,  yf.),  or  (2)  the  corpse;  this  does  more  justice  to  the  language 
of  19"  (cp.  n.  on  19").  For  VBi  of  a  material  representative  of  the 
deceased,  cp.  the  widespread  use  of  the  word  for  a  monument  on  a  grave, 
one  Ntrs:  being  erected  for  each  person  buried  in  the  grave :  cp.  Duval  in 
Revue  Sdmitigue,  ii.  259-263,  and,  as  illustrations,  i  Mac.  13^^''  (Syr.  and 
Gr.);  CIS.  ii.  162,  196.— 3.  njno^  pno  htf]  CH.  120^.— TJno]  sing.:  G.-K. 
93>  §  5- — 5b.  For  the  formula,  see  CH.  189P. 

5-10.  Some  priestly  dues. — 5b-8.  A  law  supplemental  to 
Lev.  520-26  (61-7).  It  is  there  provided  that  any  man  voluntarily 
confessing  to  the  wrongful  possession  of  property  must  return 
the  property  +  a  fifth  of  its  value  to  the  rightful  owner, 
and,  in  addition  to  this,  offer  to  Yahweh,  as  an  ^asharn  or 
guilt-offering,  an  unblemished  ram.  Provision  is  now  made 
that  if  the  rightful  owner  be  dead,  and  there  also  be  no  next- 
of-kin  {goel)  to  whom  the  property  can  be  restored,  it  is  to 
become  the  priest's. — Any  sin  that  men  commit\  lit.  *'  any  sins 
of  men."  (K  RV.  rightly  interpret  if  the  gen.  be  subjective ; 
others,  "any  of  the  sins  committed  against  men";  but  see 
phil.  n. — In  breaking  faith  with  Vah2vek]  Sins  against  man, 
shown  by  the  context  at  least  to  be  intended  here,  and  faith- 
lessness to  Yahweh  are  similiarly  connected  in  Lev.  521.  It  is 
possible  to  sin  against  God  without  sinning  against  man 
(Ps.  51^^*^),  but  all  sins  against  man  are  also  sins  against 
God.  Hence,  after  the  offender  has  made  restitution  to  the 
wronged  man  or  his  representative,  he  offers  God  a  guilt- 
ofifering,  v.^.  Lev.  52^.  Both  implications  —  that  God  is 
offended  with  wrong  done  to  man,  and  that  restitution  must 
be  made  before  the  rite  of  atonement — are  of  importance  in 
estimating  the  value  and  character  of  the  later  Jewish  law : 
cp.  Mt.  523^-. — And  that  person  incur  guili\  e.g.  by  any  of  the 
wrongs  referred  to  in  Lev.  521*-,  such  as  the  denial  of  the 
receipt  of  a  deposit,  or  of  the  finding  of  lost  goods.  For 
similar  uses  of  the  phrase  "to  incur  guilt,"  cp.  Lev.  4^3.22  ^4. 


42  NUMBERS 

for  "soul"  (C'i:3)  with  the  meaning-  of  "person,  any  one,' 
gi3  j^30^  Qj^^  17^^;  the  usage  is  frequent  in  P:  CH.  146'', 
BDB.  660/7. — 7.  Then  they  shall  confess]  the  other  instances 
in  which  confession  is  definitely  commanded  will  be  found  in 
Lev.  5^  16^^ :  cp.  Jacob,  ZATW.  1897,  pp.  60-62. — That  which 
he  has  •mrongj-idly  in  his  possession]  such  must  be  the  meaning 
of  the  Heb.  Dt^5<  here  and  in  v.^,  though  it  is  found  nowhere 
else. — In  full]  lit.  "with  its  head."  For  some  parallel 
idiomatic  uses,  see  phil.  n.  to  i^.  For  the  principle  of  re- 
paying f ,  cp.  Lev.  5-*  (6^) ;  and  for  the  same  fraction  in  other 
connections  [e.g.  in  certain  cases  of  redemption),  see  Lev.  22^* 
2^13.27.31^ — g^  ^^if  if  tJiQ  man  (be  dead  and)  have  no  next-of- 
kin  to  tohom  the  property  wrongfully  held  may  be  restored,  the 
property  wrongfully  held  which  is  to  be  restored  (becomes) 
YahweKs,  the  priesfs,  over  and  above  the  ram  of  propitiation 
with  which  he  (the  priest)  makes  propitiation  for  him  [i.e.  the 
man  who  has  confessed  his  error).  The  property  becomes 
the  priest's  as  Yahweh's  proxy,  Lev.  23^*^. — The  ram  of 
propitiation]  the  ram  which  formed  the  guilt-offering.  The 
phrase  (Qi"il23n  ?^x)  occurs  here  only.  The  ram  becomes  the 
property  of  the  priest  according  to  the  general  law,  Lev.  'f . — 
9  f.  Every  sacred  gift  which  falls  to  the  priest  becomes  the 
property  of  the  particular  priest  to  whom  it  is  offered,  not 
of  the  whole  priestly  community :  cp.  Lev.  "f'^-  ^*,  and  ct. 
Lev.  7^-  '^^  (P- ;  for  differences  of  usage  in  this  matter  are  found 
within  the  Levitical  legislation ;  see  Baentsch  on  the  passages 
just  cited,  and  Baudissin,  PriestertMim,  40.  The  present 
passage  appears  to  be  a  fragment ;  its  very  general  terms 
may  have  been  better  defined  by  the  original  context,  just  as 
18^  is  defined  by  i8^^-. — And  every  contribution,  even  all  the 
holy  things]  the  two  terms  are  best  taken  as  coextensive, 
as  in  18^.  The  sacred  gifts  are  represented  under  two 
aspects — as  removed  from  the  mass  of  a  man's  property,  and 
as  rendered  holy  by  being  dedicated  to  Yahweh.  EV.  ren- 
ders friimah  by  the  misleading  equivalent  "heave-offering"  : 
see  15^^  n.,  and  Dr.  Dent.  142.  Some  such  word  as  "contribu- 
tion "  or  "portion "  serves  best,  whether  frumah  is  used  in  the 
wide  sense  of  any  contribution  made  for  sacred  purposes  {e.g. 


V.  7-10  43 

i5^''^>  Ex.  25-^-),  or  in  the  special  sense  of  the  portion 
removed  from  the  whole  sacrifice  as  the  priest's  due  (Lev. 
yi4.  32.  34^^  Equally  comprehensive  is  the  term  '*  holy  things  " 
(□'•tJ'np) :  on.  Ex.  28^^ ;  and  for  details,  see  Baudissin,  Studien, 
ii.  44. — 10.  And  as  for  every  man^s  holy  things,  they  shall  be 
his  (the  priest's) :  whatsoever  any  man  gives  to  the  priesty  his 
{i.e.  that  particular  priest's)  shall  it  be, 

6.  'tt"  '33  Vk  nai]  add.  nnx"?  (S)  or  mnxi  (cp.  v.")  with  ffij.  pj  is  unique, 
for  the  formula  •  .  .  ^n  "i31  is,  except  in  the  peculiar  case  of  17",  always 
followed  either  (i)  by  idn'?  (Ex.  16^2,  Lev.  4^  6^8  7^3.29  122  21"  2424- »*, 
Nu.  9"  (P,  Jos.  20^t)>cp.  in  commands  to  Moses  and  Aaron  (i.e.  after 
•jx  nai),  Ex.  12^,  Lev.  ii^t;  or  (2)  by  J?7r¥l  (Lev.  i^  172  iS^  192  22^8  232- 10 
252  272,  Nu.  512  62  8- 152- 18.  S8  3351  3^10 1)^  cp.  omDNi  .  .  .  nai  Lev.  152 ;  or  (3) 
by  Waw  and  the  voluntative  ;  see  note  on  v. 2. — nc^N  in  b"n]  is  prefixed  (cp. 
Dav.  130,  R.  5),  as  here,  to  the  subordinate  sentence,  Lev.  1329,  Nu.  & 
(followed  b}'  sing-,  verb  or  pron.),  Lev.  13^^  202^  (followed,  as  here,  by  pi.). 
The  prefixing-  of  the  subj.  to  the  conditional  particle  is  critically  signifi- 
cant;  ct.  Ex.  21' and  other  passages  in  Book  of  the  Covenant;  and  see 
ig'-^n.,  Konig-,  iii.  341  n, — irj;']  The  pi.  is  justified  by  the  instances  just  cited  : 
ffir  translates  by  a  singular  (cp.  Lev.  13^^  and  ct.  2o2'),  and  turns  all  the 
remaining  plurals  in  v.®'*  by  singulars.  The  changes  of  number  in  |^  are 
remarkable,  but  scarcely  unparalleled  ;  cp.  Ew.  319a. — riNDn  Vdd]  "any  one 
of  the  sins  "  ;  cp.   Lev.  52^      See  Konigf,  iii.  81-83  ;  and  cp.  the  use  of 

^^  (Wright,  ii.  48  f.,  R.  b  ;  BDB.  58i«). — onx  nNcn]  the  gen.  after  riNBn  is 
so  generally  subjective  (cp.  e.g.  Gn.  31^^  50",  i  S.  20^ — all  instances,  as  the 
co7itext  shows,  of  sins  against  men)  that  it  probably  is  so  intended  here. 
If  objective  (Dav.  23),  cp.  'DCn  (Gn.   i6'')="the  violence  done  to  me." — 

9.  'p  ^3"?  nmnn  ^y\  the  explicative  h^eveti,  namely,  to  -wit:  cp.  Ex.  28^*, 
Lev.  5^;  BDB.  514J.  — n\T  i"?  .  .  .  nann  "jdi]  oneof  the  numerous  instances  in 
which  '7  n'n  does  not  agree  with  its  (apparent)  subject :  cp.  9'^  152^,  Ex.  12*^ 
28",  Dt,  i82 ;  the  grammatical  subject  is  rather  the  real  object  of  the 
verbal  idea:  cp.   Ew.  295^^;  G.-K.  1452^.      Otherwise  Konig,  iii.  345^?. — 

10.  v^-ip  nx  b"n]  Dav.  11,  R.  id;  72.  R.  4. 

11-31.  The  ordeal  of  jealousy. 

Literature. — The  Mishnah  tractate  5'o/'n'A(ed.Surenhusius,  iii.  178-321, 
containing  Wagenseil's  Commentary) ;  Philo,  De  specialibiis  Legibus,  c.  10 
(Mangey,  308-310);  Josephus,  Aiit.  iii.  11^;  Spencer,  De  Legibus,  bk.  iii, 
c.  ii.  §  3  ad  Jin. ;  Bahr,  Symbolik,  ii.  441-447  ;  Stade,  Die  Eiferopferthora 
in  ZATW.'yi.\.  (1895)  1 66-1 78. 

A  woman  suspected  of  adultery,  which  cannot  be  legally 
proved,  may  be  subjected  to  an  ordeal.  For  this  purpose  her 
husband,  who  must  bring  with  him  an  offering  of  barley  meal, 
which  is  termed  "  a  meal-oftering  of  jealousy,  a  meal-offering 


44  NUMBERS 

of  memorial  bringing"  gfullt  to  remembrance,"  must  bring  her 
to  the  priest.  The  priest  brings  her  before  Yahweh,  makes 
her  take  an  oath  of  purgation,  and  then  gives  her  to  drink  a 
potion  described  as  "the  water  of  bitterness  tliat  causeth  the 
curse,"  and  consisting  of  "holy  water"  with  which  dust  from 
the  floor  of  the  tabernacle  has  been  mingled,  and  into  which 
the  written  words  of  the  oath  have  been  washed.  If  the 
woman  be  guilty  the  potion  proves  harmful ;  if  Innocent, 
harmless ;  in  the  latter  case,  moreover,  the  woman  becomes 
fruitful. 

The  custom  here  regulated  has  innumerable  analogies  in 
practices  generally  prevalent  in  antiquity,  and  still  prevalent 
over  large  parts  of  the  world.  The  essential  element  in  the 
custom  is  that  the  accused  in  test  of  his  innocence  subjects 
himself  to  a  hazard,  whether  that  consists,  as  here,  in  drinking 
a  potion,  being  flung  into  deep  water,  walking  over  hot 
ploughshares,  holding  heated  metal  in  the  hand,  or  the  like. 
Such  customs  figure  prominently  in  the  ancient  Indian  law 
books,  are  not  infrequently  alluded  to  by  the  classical  writers 
of  Greece  and  Rome,  formed  a  regular  feature  in  European 
life  down  through  the  Middle  Ages,  and  still  have  a  wide 
prevalence,  especially  in  Africa. 

One  or  two  illustrations  are  cited  below.  For  others,  reference  can  be 
made  to  The  La-ws  of  Manu,  viii.  1 14-1 16  {SBE.  xxv.  274),  and  the  Institutes 
of  Vishnu,  ix-xiv  {SBE.  vii.  52-61,),  for  Indian  custom  ;  to  Frazer's 
Pausanias,  Description  of  Greece,  iv.  175  f.  (n.  on  vii.  25.  13)  and  iv.  253-255 
(n.  on  viii.  17),  and  Funkhanel's  article  in  Philologjis,  ii.  (1847)  385-402 
(which  also  contains  some  good  remarks  on  the  connection  between  oaths 
and  ordeals),  for  instances  in  Greek  and  Roman  authors  ;  to  Livingstone, 
Missionary  Travels  in  South  Africa  (1857),  434,  631,  and  A.  M.  Post, 
Afrikanische  Jurisprudenz,  ii.  1 10-120,  for  African  custom  ;  and  generally 
to  Tylor's  article  *' Ordeal"  in  EB.,  and  Bastian,  Der  Mensch  in  der 
Geschichfe,  ii.  210  f.  A  peculiarly  interesting  parallel  is  cited  by  the 
last  named  (from  Japan) :  the  accused  drinks  water  in  which  paper 
inscribed  with  bird-characters  ( Vogelcharakteren)  has  been  dipped  ;  this 
causes  him  pain  in  his  body  till  he  confesses. 

The  Priestly  Code  alone  among  the  Hebrew  law  books, 
and  that  only  in  the  present  section  (P"),  contains  a  law  of  the 
ordeal ;  and  the  allusions  to  the  custom  in  the  OT.  are  at 
most  but  few.     The  presentation  of  incense  by  Korah  and  his 


V.  11-31  45 

company  (c.  i6)  is  a  story  best  accounted  for  by  assuming 
that  the  ordeal  was  a  famihar  custom  not  confined  to  cases  of 
suspected  unchastity.  It  is  possible  that  familiarity  with  the 
custom  also  accounts  for  Ps.  109^^^,  Pr.  6-'^'^^.  More  direct 
and  unambiguous  allusions  are  not  found. 

And  yet  there  are  reasons  for  concluding  that  the  ordeal 
was  more  frequent,  at  least  in  early  Israel,  than  this  unique 
law  would  at  first  lead  us  to  expect,  and  that  the  practice  of 
it  with  the  Hebrews,  as  with  other  peoples  among  whom  it 
prevailed,  was  not  limited  to  cases  of  unchastity. 

For  (i)  the  Hebrews  also  used  other  modes  of  obtaining 
the  direct  decision  of  the  deity  in  cases  of  doubt,  and  one  in 
particular  which  is  among  other  peoples  found  closely  con- 
nected with  the  ordeal,  viz.  the  oath  of  purgation  (Ex. 
229f-(iof.)^  I  K.  8^^).  In  what  mode  the  decision  of  the  deity  is 
given  in  the  case  of  Ex.  22'^*- ^^*-^  is  not  distinctly  stated, 
whether  by  the  oath,  as  in  the  next  case  (Di.),  or  by  the 
priestly  oracle  (Baentsch),  or  by  ordeal. 

The  connection  of  oath  and  ordeal  is  well  illustrated  by  Manu's  Law 
(viii.  109-116):  "If  two  (parties)  dispute  about  matters  for  which  no 
witnesses  are  available,  and  the  (judge)  is  unable  to  really  ascertain  the 
truth,  he  may  cause  it  to  be  discerned  even  by  an  oath.  .  .  .  Let  the 
(judge)  cause  the  Brahmana  to  swear  by  his  veracity,  a  Kshatriya  by  his 
chariot,"  and  so  of  the  other  castes  ;  then,  in  immediate  sequence,  "or  the 
(judge)  may  cause  the  (party)  to  carry  fire  or  to  dive  under  water,  or 
severally  to  touch  the  heads  of  his  wives  and  children.  He  whom  the 
blazing  fire  burns  not,  whom  the  water  forces  not  to  come  (quickly)  up, 
who  meets  with  no  speedy  misfortune,  must  be  held  innocent  on  (the 
strength  of)  his  oath."  The  methods  of  Yahweh's  decision  in  the  early 
law  book  is  left  entirely  undetermined  or  is  barely  alluded  to,  just  as  the 
detailed  ritual  of  sacrifice  is  omitted  even  from  Dt.,  though  both  methods 
and  details  of  necessity  existed  in  reality.  The  later  law  book  (P)  records 
the  details  of  sacrificial  ritual  and  of  the  particular  ordeal  which  perhaps 
alone  maintained  its  existence  after  the  Exile.  Biihler's  remarks  on  the 
parallel  silence  or  brevity  of  the  earlier  and  the  fulness  of  the  later  Indian 
codes  in  the  matter  of  ordeals  are  instructive  {SBE.  xxv.  p.  cif.). 

(2)  The  double  term  for  the  accompanying  offering  is 
noticeable.  It  is  **  the  offering  of  jealousy  "  ;  it  is  also  "the 
offering  of  memorial,  bringing  guilt  to  remembrance."  Neither 
term  occurs  elsewhere ;  yet  the  latter  looks  like  the  species, 
the  former  like  the  sub-species  ;  this  is  so  in  any  case,  and 


46  NUMBERS 

especially  if  Stade's  analysis,  noticed  below,  be  adopted.  But 
the  term  for  the  species  seems  to  indicate  that  the  offerings 
covered  by  it  were  made  when  a  decision  was  required  of 
the  deity  in  cases  of  doubt,  of  which  the  doubt  of  jealousy  is 
but  one.  Stade  observes  further,  "The  difference  drawn  in 
Lev.  7^**  [see  below  on  v.^^]  would  be  much  more  easily 
explained  if  the  meal-offering  without  oil  and  frankincense 
were  used  in  more  than  the  special  cases  of  Lev.  5^^,  Nu. 
-11-31^  But  this  would  be  the  case  if  we  assume  that  the 
piDTH  nnJD  was  employed  in  other  cases  as  well  as  that  of 
suspected  adultery." 

(3)  W.  R.  Smith  [Rel.  Scrn.'^  181)  interprets  the  names  En- 
Mishpat  and  Me  Meribah  {i.e.  well  of  judgment  and  waters  of 
controversy)  with  reference  to  the  use  of  the  springs  at  Kadesh 
in  decisions  by  ordeal.  The  names  outlived  the  practice,  and 
are  possibly  not  of  Hebrew  origin  [EBz.  s.v.  **  Names," 
§  89-91) ;  yet  their  significance,  taken  in  connection  with  the 
foregoing  considerations,  is  not  to  be  overlooked. 

If  the  force  of  the  preceding  argument  be  admitted,  it  will 
not  be  denied  that  the  custom  of  ordeal  among  the  Hebrews 
goes  back  to  the  remotest  period  of  their  history.  It  survived, 
at  least  in  a  particular  instance,  as  the  incorporation  of  the 
present  law  in  P  shows,  into  the  post-exilic  period.  It  was 
an  illegitimate  conclusion  of  Ewald's  {Alterthiimer^  275), 
even  on  his  theory  of  the  pre-exilic  origin  of  P,  that  the  custom 
fell  into  early  disuse ;  for  the  Nazirite's  vow,  like  the  ordeal 
of  jealousy,  finds  a  place  in  P  alone  of  the  Codes,  and  yet  we 
have  proof  positive  that  it  was  practised  long  after  the 
Exile  (below,  p.  57  f.).  There  is  no  evidence  as  to  when  the 
ordeal  of  jealousy  fell  into  disuse,  except  the  statement  of  the 
Mishnah  [Sotah  9^),  which  may  be  taken  for  what  it  is  worth, 
that  Johanan  b.  Zaccai,  who  flourished  in  the  last  third  of 
the  ist  century  a.d.,  abolished  it.  Some  of  the  additional 
details  given  in  Soiah,  though  not  always  consistent  with  the 
apparent  intention  of  the  biblical  text,  may  rest  on  the  actual 
practice  of  the  ist  century  a.d.,  though  much  is  somewhat 
clearly  mere  theoretical  discussion.  It  is  doubtful,  however, 
whether  the  Protevangelmm  (c.  16)  in  making  Joseph  as  well 


V.  11-31  47 

as  Mary  drink  the  waters,  rests  on  actual  custom :  cp.  v." 
below  and  note. 

The  ordeal  rests  in  principle  on  modes  of  thought  and 
belief  far  more  ancient  than  the  religion  of  Israel.  Modern 
anthropological  study  has  abundantly  justified  the  judgment 
of  the  great  Cambridge  divine  of  the  17th  century:  •*  Cum 
itaque  gentes  pleraeque,  mediis  hujusmodi  prodigiosis,  inno- 
centiae  in  dubium  vocat^e  experimentum  caperent ;  probabiliter 
arbitremur,  hunc  morem,  diu  ante  Mosis  aetatem,  inter  gentes 
invaluisse ;  et  Deum  aquam  zelotypiae  Judasis  concecisse,  ne 
privilegium  aut  miraculum  aliquod  inter  gentes  familiare 
populo  suo  deesse  videretur"  (Spencer,  De  LegibiiSf  p.  657, 
Cambridge  edition,  1727). 

The  origin  of  the  law  must  constantly  be  borne  in  mind 
in  attempting  to  interpret  its  religious  significance,  and  to 
estimate  its  place  in  the  religion  of  Israel.  A  rite  incor- 
porated, as  in  the  present  case,  from  ineradicable  popular 
custom  into  an  essentially  alien  religious  system  passes,  in 
respect  to  its  meaning,  through  three  stages :  in  the  first 
stage  it  possesses  a  definite  meaning;  in  the  second  it  is 
deprived  of  this  and,  perhaps,  of  all  meaning ;  in  the  third  it 
has  read  into  it  a  variety  of  new  meanings  consonant  with 
the  religious  belief  of  the  times,  and,  generally,  completely 
at  variance  with  the  original  significance.  So  in  the  present 
instance :  the  potion  was  originally  believed  to  be  the  actual 
cause  of  harm  to  the  guilty  woman ;  when  the  rite  was 
assimilated  to  Yahwistic  belief,  the  potion  becomes  a  meaning- 
less survival ;  for  it  is  Yahweh  who  causes  the  harm  (v.^^) ; 
finally,  various  symbolical  meanings  are  read  into  this  as  into 
other  parts  of  the  ritual ;  as,  for  example,  by  Philo,  who 
explains  that  the  water  used  is  pure  and  living  (ffii's  equi- 
valent for  the  holy  water  of  ^  being  v^xap  Kadapop  ^mv),  *'  since 
a  blameless  woman  is  pure  as  to  her  life,  and  deserves  to  live," 
and  that  the  dust  mingled  with  it  is  taken  from  the  temple 
as  being  on  that  account  "most  excellent,  just  as  a  modest 
woman  is."  All  three  stages  may  very  well  be  represented  in 
different  classes  of  the  same  age;  at  the  very  time  that  Philo  and 
the  Palestinian  doctors  were  finding  meanings  for  the  several 


48  NUMBERS 

details  of  the  ritual,  to  many  of  the  people  they  either  retained 
some  shadow  of  their  original  meaning-,  or  had  ceased  to  have 
any  at  all ;  just  as  the  practice  of  turning  to  the  East,  filled  by 
the  reflective  with  a  Christian  meaning,  to  the  mass  of  the  un- 
reflecting laity  means  nothing,  and  among  some  Christian  sects 
has  retained,  at  least  till  recent  times,  something  of  the  sig- 
nificance given  to  it  by  the  sun-worship  from  which  it  sprang.* 
Just  as  myths,  not  of  Hebrew  origin,  like  those  of  Creation 
and  the  Flood,  as  they  gained  currency  among  the  Hebrews, 
gradually  exchanged  their  originally  polytheistic  for  a  mono- 
theistic setting,  and  thus  became  a  fit  vehicle  for  the  truths 
of  the  Hebrew  religion ;  so  rites  such  as  the  present,  or  that 
of  the  red  cow  (c.  19),  or  of  the  "scape-goat"  (Lev.  16), 
or  of  the  purification  of  the  leper  (Lev.  14*"^),  not  deriving 
their  origin  from  the  belief  in  Yahweh,  were  accommodated 
to  it  at  the  cost  of  some  modifications,  and  with  some  incon- 
gruous results.  The  first  essential  in  the  present  case  was 
that  those  who  used  the  ordeal  should  feel  that  the  decision 
was  Yahweh's  decision  (cp.  Dt.  i8^*'^-,  Is.  8^^),  the  judgment 
due  to  Yahweh's  activity.  This  involved  obtaining  the 
decision  at  Yahweh's  (one)  sanctuary,  and  this  in  turn  the 
bringing  of  an  offering.  Again,  the  place  whence  the  dust 
(and  probably  also  whence  the  water)  was  taken  is  a  modifica- 
tion of  the  original  requirements.  The  present  law  may 
embody  other  modifications  of  the  original,  which  can  no 
longer  be  detected  with  certainty. 

In  this  connection  a  sugg-estion  made  to  me  by  the  Rev.  H.  W. 
Robinson  seems  worthy  of  consideration.  In  the  original  rite  administered 
in  cases  of  suspicion  aroused  by  pregnancy  the  water  may  have  been 
credited  with  positive  virtue  in  the  case  of  guilt ;  being  supposed  to  descend 
into  the  womb  (d'j;o  v.--,  as  in  Gn.  25-^,  Ps.  71^  Ru.  1"),  it  may  have 
been  regarded  as  affecting  the  offspring  of  a  guilty  intercourse,  so  that, 
though  the  woman  grows  great  with  child  ("  the  swelling  belly  "),  the  birth 
is  abortive  (expressed  by  the  euphemistic  or  modified  expression  IT  Ssj :  ? 
compare  Vr.4'=  abortion).  In  the  other  case  the  potion  may  have  been 
regarded  as  innocuous  to  the  growth  of  the  foetus,  which  is  duly  brought 
to  the  birth.  The  latter  point  has  then  been  characteristically  modified : 
the  innocent  woman  is  promised  that  she  shall  sjibseqiieiitly  conceive,  as  a 
reward  directly  granted  by  Yahweh  (cp.  Gn.  i^'s-is  25-'). 

*  Tylor,  Primitive  Culture,^  ii.  426. 


V.  11-13  49 

The  interpretation  of  the  section  must  also  take  account  of 
certain  Hterary  or  textual  phenomena.  In  the  present  text 
the  woman  is  twice  brought  before  Yahweh,  twice  made 
to  swear  (v.^^'  ^^),  and  twice,  if  not  thrice,  to  drink  the  potion 
^y  23f,  26f.j^  That  this  duplication  occurred  in  the  actual  ritual 
is  highly  improbable.  The  text  has  either  been  interpolated 
and  otherwise  modified,  or  it  rests  on  a  compilation  from  two 
parallel  but  distinct  tordth. 

Stade  also  lays  stress  on  the  lack  of  complete  harmony  between  super- 
scription and  subscription ;  on  the  assumption  that  the  wife  is  guilty  in 
v.^-'',  and,  in  contrast,  on  the  openness  of  the  question  in  v.^'^  and  on  sundry 
alternative  expressions.  He  argues  that  the  present  law  has  sprung 
from  a  literary  fusion  of  two  laws  of  ordeal— (a)  a  p3t.T  nn:D  consisting  of 
v."'^  (except  3rd  clause),  1*  (except  xin  nx:pn  nnjD  o),  i^-i^  (except  the  ist 
clause  and  ^?ln  n.^jp  nn:D  and  DmNon  in  ^^  and  nxDa,  omNDn  in  ^^),  -"  (except 
riNDaa  '3i),  22a  (except  DmNcn),  -s'-  25  (last  clause),  2®*-  *^ ;  and  (h)  a  nsjpn  nniD 
consisting  of  v. -9-  "  (3rd  clause),  30a-  "(nxct::  n"?  N'm),  ^^-  is  (to  nin^,  'i-  ^-f-  25.  m. 
(with  some  slight  variations).  CH.  have  attempted  another  analysis  into 
(a)  an  ordeal ;  (i)a  solemn  condemnation  :  for  a  brief  criticism  of  this,  see 
EBi.  s.v.  "Jealousy,"  §  5.  Any  such  analysis  can  in  detail  only  reach  a 
very  moderate  degree  of  probability, 

11,12a.  "The  superscription  is  the  formula  well  known 
from  the  Book  of  Leviticus  [e.g:  i^^]  by  means  of  which  the 
codifications  of  older  customs  are  there  introduced  ;  it  indicates 
that  we  have  before  us  here  a  section  of  the  same  character" 
(Stade).  For  v.^^,  cp.  phil.  n.  on  v.^. — 13.  A7id  it  be  hid  from 
the  eyes  of  her  husband,  and  she  be  undetected,  though  she  has  as 
a  matter  of  fact  defiled  herself  (Lev.  18^*^)]  RV.  is  wrong  :  the 
subj.  of  the  first  vb.  (masc.)  is  the  fact,  of  the  second  (fem.), 
the  woman. — And  there  be  no  'witness  against  her,  since  she 
ivas  not  taken]  viz.  in  the  act.  A  woman  convicted,  on  the 
evidence  of  two  witnesses  at  least  (35^*^  (P),  Dt.  17^  i9^^)j  of 
adultery  was  put  to  death  (Lev.  20^°  (H),  Dt.  22^-"^^).  The 
ordeal  is  to  be  resorted  to  when,  as  in  cases  of  adultery  it 
must  frequently  have  happened,  legal  proof  was  not  forth- 
coming. The  husband  is  not  here  required  in  any  way  to 
justify  his  doubt ;  indeed,  the  next  v.  seems  to  contemplate 
the  possibility  of  the  merest  and  most  baseless  suspicion. 
The  Mishnah  required  the  husband  first  to  prohibit  the  woman, 
in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  to  hold  any  further  communica- 
4 


50  NUMBERS 

tion  with  the  man  suspected ;    and  then  only  in  case  of  the 
wife's  disobedience  could  the  husband  subject  her  to  the  ordeal 
[Soiah  i.   if.).     Philo  also  says  the   husband  must  state  the 
evidence  for  his   suspicions. — 14.  And  the  spirit  of  jealousy 
come  upon  hiin\  ue.  the  man  becomes  jealous  or  suspicious : 
cp.    **the  spirit  of  whoredom"   (Hos.  4^^).      Spirit  in   such 
cases  denotes  an  uncontrollable  or  unaccountable  impulse. — 
15.  Her  offering  for  her]  The  Versions  rightly  understood  that 
the  offering,  however  described,  is  the  man's ;    see  phil.  n. 
He  brings  it  as  one  who  requires  the  services  of  the  priest, 
i.e.  the   help  of  God,  in   which   case   no   one   must  appear 
empty,   without   a   gift.      Though   described   at   length    the 
offering  is   a  mere  subsidiary ;    the  raison  d'etre  of  the  law 
is  the  ordeal. — One-tenth  of  an  ephah]  a  little  under  4  litres 
or  7  pints;  see  BDB.  s.v.  na,  p.  1445. — Barley  meal]  Every- 
where  else    P    requires    "fine   meal"   (npD)   to    be   used   for 
offerings :  cp.   Ezek.  46^*.      But  the  requirement  is  scarcely 
ancient;  Gideon  and  Hannah  offer  ordinary  meal  (nop),  which 
is  clearly  distinguished  in    i  K  5^  (422)  from  n^D,  Jud.   6^^, 
I  S  i^^.     Barley  meal  (□''"iiyki')  was  far  less  valuable  than  "fine 
meal"  or  "wheat"  (2  K.  7^,  Rev.  6^),  but  in  early  Israel  it 
may  have  been  the  staple  farinaceous  food,  and  throughout 
it  appears  to  have  been  not  only  the  food  of  cattle  (i  K.  5^ 
(4^^),  but  also  the  ordinary  food  of  the  poorer  classes  (Ru.  2^"^, 
Jud.  7^^,  Jn.  6^-  ^^ ;  cp.  EBi.  483  f.) ;  as  such  it  is  only  probable 
that   at   one    time   it   played   a  considerable  part   in   sacred 
offerings,  and  was  generally  accepted  by  the  priests  of  the 
sanctuaries  for  services  such  as  the  present.     As  an  isolated 
survival,    it   subsequently   called   for  explanation ;    a  typical 
attempt  is  R.  Gamali'el's :   "As  her  acts  had  been  bestial,  so 
her  offering  consisted  of  the   food  of  beasts"  [Sotah  ii.   i); 
Philo's  is  similar.     Such  interpretations  fail  to  do  justice  even 
to  the  law  in  its   present  form,  much   less  to   the   original 
custom ;  for  the  offering  is  not  the  woman's,  and  her  action 
is  still  subject  of  doubt. — He  shall  pour  no  oil  over  it]  Meal- 
offerings  (nn:D),  for  which  see  Lev.  2,  were  divided  into  two 
classes:  (i)  those  that  were  mingled  with  oil;   (2)  those  that 
were  dry.  Lev.  7^''.     The   only  other  instance   mentioned  of 


V.  I4-I8  51 

**  dry"  meal-offering's  is  the  poor  man's  sin-offering-  (Lev.  5^^), 
which,  like  the  present  offering,  must  also  be  offered  without 
frankincense.  Philo,  who  has  been  much  followed,  may  very 
well  be  correct  here  in  explaining-  that  the  absence  of  the 
accompaniments  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  occasion  was  no 
happy  one,  but  one  that  was  very  grievous. — A  ineal-offering 
of  viemorial\  The  defining  term  jliDT  is  elsewhere  used  in  a 
good  sense  ;  hence  the  interpretation  is  added — by  the  original 
writer  or  a  glossator — bringing  iniquity  to  remembrance. 
When  Yahweh  forgets,  guilt  goes  unpunished ;  when  He 
remembers,  He  visits  the  sinner,  i  K.  17^^,  Ezek.  2i2^^-^2^^-^  29^^, 
Hos.  8^^,  Jer.  44^"",  Ps.  25^  I37^- — 16.  Before  Va/itve/i]  i.e. 
before  the  tabernacle,  and,  in  particular,  before  the  altar.  In 
later  times,  according  to  Sotah  i.  5,  the  accused  were  brought 
to  the  Nicanor  or  eastern  gate  of  the  temple. — 17.  Holy 
water]  **The  expression  ...  is  unique  in  the  language  of 
Hebrew  ritual,  and  must  be  taken  as  an  isolated  survival  of 
an  obsolete  expression.  Unique  though  the  expression  be,  it 
is  not  difficult  to  assign  it  its  meaning ;  the  analogies  already 
before  us  indicate  that  we  must  think  of  water  from  a  holy 
spring"  (W.  R.  Smith,  JRel.  Se?/i.^  181).  The  intention  of 
f^  is  rather  water  from  the  laver  [Sotah  ii.  2,  ST,  Siphre). 
It  is,  however,  highly  probable  that  the  phrase  D''K'"ip  D''D  is 
a  late  substitute  in  ^  for  an  original  D'^Tl  D^D  (cp.fflr)  =  **  running 
water,"  which  we  may  assume  in  any  case  was  used  in  the 
original  rite  ;  running  water  is  used  in  the  somewhat  kindred 
rites  of  19^'^,  Lev.  14^^-. — An  earthen  vessel]  Lev.  14^-^*'. 
Infected  by  the  holiness  of  the  potion  it  would  after  use  be 
destroyed  (Lev.  &^  ^2s)j_ — Dust . .  .on  the  floor  of  the  taberjiaclc] 
also  holy  in  virtue  of  the  place  whence  It  is  taken,  and  calcu- 
lated, therefore,  to  increase  the  intensity  of  the  holiness  of 
the  draught.  The  dust  of  the  original  rite  may  perchance 
have  been  taken  from  graves  in  virtue  of  necromantic  beliefs  ; 
such  beliefs  must  be  the  ultimate  cause  of  the  custom  of  eating 
dust  from  the  grave  of  Mohammed  as  "a  cure  for  every 
disease"  (Lane,  Modem  Egyptians,  c.  xi.,  "  Minerva"  edition, 
p.  235). — 18.  And  the  priest  shall  set  the  'wo??ian  before  Yah^aeh] 
Repetition  of  v.^*^^,  and  perhaps  originally  a  gloss  explaining 


52  K UMBERS 

that  the  object  In  v.^^^  is  the  woman  and  not  the  meal-oflFer- 
ing-.  If  the  words  were  original  in  their  present  position,  "  her 
hair"  would  be  more  natural  than  "the  hair  of  the  woman" 
in  the  next  clause. — And  he  shall  tinhind  the  'woman^s  hair] 
for  the  phrase  ({J'Si  yiD)  cp.  Lev.  lo^  13*^  21IO;  Nowack,  Arch. 
ii.  114.  According  to  Solak  i.  6,  the  woman  was  also  clothed 
in  black.  It  would  appear  from  Josephus  {AiiL  xiv.  9*) 
that  any  person  accused  before  the  Sanhedrin  appeared  with 
unbound  hair  and  dressed  in  black;  for  the  latter  point  we 
may  then  compare  Zech.  3^.  It  has  been  customary  from  Philo 
downwards  to  explain  the  unbinding  of  the  hair  as  pointing 
to  the  woman's  shame,  which  must  be  the  meaning  of  the 
further  action  of  the  priest  in  laying  bare  her  bosom  {Sotah 
i.  5).  W.  R.  Smith  {Rel.  Sem.^  181)  cites  an  instance  of  an 
Arabian  woman  subjected  to  shame  in  connection  with  an  oath 
of  purgation  {Kitab  el  'Aga7n,  i.  156.  3). — He  shall  place  .  .  . 
the  offering  in  her  hands]  cp.  6^^  Ex.  29^*,  Lev.  &'''^- .—  Waters 
of  bitterness]  i.e.  waters  having  an  injurious  effect,  Jer.  2^®, 
4^3  ;  so  clearly  in  v.^*-  ^7.  By  itself  Dno  if3  might  mean  water 
rendered  bitter  by  ingredients :  cp.  JJ'X-I  ''D  Jer.  8^*  23!^ .  ^nd 
for  -ID  =  "  bitter  to  the  taste,"  Ex.  15^3,  Pr.  zf.  This  may 
have  been  the  original  meaning  of  the  phrase :  for,  as  Tylor 
points  out  {EB.  xvii.  819),  bitter  potions  are  much  used  in 
various  ordeals. 

12.  '3  c's  B''x]  so  9^",  Lev.  152  24^' ;  see,  further,  CH.  190''.— nobn]  also 
lat. 29^  Pj._  ^16  yssf ;  cp.  cic  Ps.  40*  and?  Hos.  5^  Ps.  loi^.  In  Aram, 
it  is  frequent  ;  and  in  ^  often  renders  Heb.  niD  {e.g.  Ex.  32^,  Dt.  ii^^). 
Treated  by  Giesebrecht  {ZATW.  i.  196)  and  Ryssel  {De  Elohistce  Pent. 
Serin.  70)  as  an  Aramaism  ;  disputed  by  Dr.  (y/%.  xi.  205).— ^yo  .  .  .  nV^'Di] 
use  of  both  vb.  and  noun  confined  to  Ezek,  Pr.  (16I")  P,  Ch.-Ezr.- 
Neh.  Dan.  Ecclus.  {e.g.  48I6) :  cp.  CH.  164P.— 13.  nm  .  .  .  aDB-i]  MT. 
in  this  phrase  makes  nDBf  take  a  direct  ace.  a^^^ ;  but  point  nnx :  cp. 
Lev.  iS",  where  the  indef.  obj.  precludes  nx  being  the  sign  of  the  ace., 
and  the  parallel  phrases  cy  33^-,  ^kn  33E'  ;  Geiger,  Urschrift,  407  f.  :  other- 
wise Konig,  iii.  329f.— yii  n33B']  Lev.  is^s- 18.— nVy:!]  Lev.  (413)  s^'*-  The 
C-b.  is  masc.  here  as  in  On.  17";  the  fern,  is  commoner,  G.-K.  144&. — 
n-inD:i]  subj.  nc'Nn ;  but  in  Stade  and  CH.  mnD:i  is  the  parallel  in  another 
source  to  the  preceding  ch]}l^. — n'h]  this  and  the  instance  in  v.^^  are  two  of 
the  eleven  instances  in  which,  in  the  Pent.,  this  fern.  pr.  is  written />/gwg  in 
|D  ;  see  BDB.  214  f. — ly]  emphatically  placed  before  ya-  BDB.  34a  6. — 
14.  -av]  Dav.   1136;  in  v.^"  fem.— 15.  n'^y  n:3np  nx]  G  F  omit  suffix  (S  is 


V.  19-21  53 

ambiguous).  This  is  not  right;  but  possibly  !7l3ip  (G. -K.  91^)  was 
originally  intended,  and  was  glossed  by  r^'hi'. — he'k.t  m'fj?]  For  ^  ephah 
P  uses  the  technical  term  ptu])  24  times,  the  present  expression  only  4 
times  elsewhere,  Ex.  16^",  Lev.  5^^  6'^,  Nu.  28^ ;  in  the  last  case  it  is 
parallel  to  [ncy  in  Ex.  29^". — mxap  nmn]  Dav.  23  and  17,  R.  2. — 17.  ps'Sn] 
(5  nyio  ^nx. — a-z/ip  D'd]  Di.  and  Str.  further  argue  in  favour  of  fflr  (see 
above)  on  the  ground  of  the  uniqueness  of  this  adjectival  use  of  vnp : 
cp.  Baudissin,  Sfudien,  ii.  130  n.,  and  BDB.  s.v.  ;  G.-K.  128/.  — 18. 
D'TDn  'd]  waters  resulting  in,  leading  to,  bitterness :  cp.  v.-^'  ^,  also  Dav. 
23,  i6b. 

19-22.  The  oath  of  purgation  is  administered  to  the 
woman,  who  accepts  it  by  replying-,  Amen,  amen. — For  the 
connection  between  oath  and  ordeal,  see  above,  p.  45.  At 
present  the  terms  of  the  oath,  v.^^*-  ^^^  are  interrupted  by  a 
fresh  introduction  (v.^^  =  v.^^^)  and  a  parallel  to  the  con- 
cluding- part  of  the  oath  (v.^^^  =  v. 2^*).  This  cannot  be  right. 
But  if  we  assume,  with  Stade  and  CH.,  that  it  has  resulted 
from  the  deliberate  fusion  of  two  laws  by  the  compiler,  we 
must  credit  him  with  almost  incredible  stupidity  for  not 
having  placed  v.^^  after  v.^^,  where  it  would  have  been  merely 
superfluous.  It  seems  preferable  to  suppose  that  v.-^  con- 
sists of  glosses  that  worked  their  way  into  the  text,  v.^^'^ 
being  an  explanation  of  v.^^,  insisting  that  Yahweh,  not  the 
water,  is  the  cause  of  injury  to  the  woman  (above,  p.  48). 
Omitting  v.^^  the  oath  runs  naturally : — If  you  have  not  com- 
mitted adultery,  let  the  water  be  harmless ;  if  you  have, 
harmful. — 19.  Be  thou  free  from  this  2vater]  be  unpunished 
by  it:  cp.  np:  in  Ex.  21^^,  i  S.  26^,  Pr.  629.— 21.  Yahweh 
make  thee  a  curse]  make  thy  fate  so  evil,  that  people  wishing 
to  curse  any  one  will  say,  Yahweh  make  so  -  and  -  so  like 
this  woman :  cp.  Jer.  29^^,  also  Gn.  482**,  Zech.  8^^,  Is.  65^^^- 
—  WJien  Yahweh  7?iaketh  thy  thigh  fall  away  and  thy  belly 
swell]  the  phrases  are  in  the  reverse  order  in  v.-'-  ^7.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  any,  and,  if  so,  what  particular  disease  is 
thought  of;  many,  from  Josephus  downwards,  have  thought 
of  dropsy.  For  another  suggestion,  see  above,  p.  48.  The 
precise  meaning,  especially  of  the  first  term,  is  not  certain  ; 
"thigh"  is  probably  euphemistic :  see  phil.  n.  The  Jewish 
interpretation  is  based  on  the  general  principle,  "with  what 
measure  a  man  metes,  it  is  measured  to  him "  (mXi^*  HT'DD 


54 


NUMBERS 


"1^  D''^^J^  nn  nniJO),  and  so  the  Mishnah  says,  **  With  the  thi^^-h 
she  commenced  her  transgression,  and  afterwards  with  the 
belly :  therefore  the  thigh  shall  be  first  smitten  and  then  the 
belly  "  {Sotah  i.  7  ff.) ;  for  a  lengthy  illustration  of  the  principle, 
see  the  Pesikta  of  Rab  Kahana  (ed.  Buber),  1286,  129^;. — 22. 
The  original  continuation  of  v.^'^  (see  above) :  render  "lai  ixni  then 
shall  this  water .  .  .  e?tter,  etc. — Tkj  bowels]  Hebrew  physiology 
was  very  primitive :  the  term  D"'yQ  covers  "the  womb"  (Gn. 
25-^)  as  well  as  other  internal  organs;  see  BDB.  s.v. — Anien^ 
Amen]  a  single  "Amen"  is  the  response  to  a  curse  in  Dt. 
2yi5ff. .  (>p_  Neh.  5^^.  The  double,  uncopulated  amen  occurs 
elsewhere  only  in  Neh.  8^;  copulated  in  Ps.  41^*  72^^  89^^  (|^, 
not  (S).     See,  further,  H.  W.  Hogg  \nJQR.  ix.  1-24. 

19.  IC'N  nnn]  =  "  being-  under  (the  authority  of)  thy  husband  "  :  cp.  Ezek. 
zf.  The  fuller  phrase  is  T  nnn  {e.g.  Jud.  3^"). — 21.  i^t]  not,  literally, 
"thig-h";  the  sense  can  be  gathered  from  the  parallel  (pn)  and  the  use 
of  IT  in  the  phrase  (of  the  male)  IT  'ks\ — xhfi]  apparently  =  "  waste  away  "  ; 

but  the  sense  is  not  found  elsewhere. — nas]  The  roots  nas=  Ix*  =  «??  and 

n3s=    Jii  =  tot:  are  known  in  Heb.,  but  give  no  suitable  meaning;  nor 

do  the  usag-es  of  \xJi,  which  also  corresponds.  The  sense  "to  swell," 
used  in  this  section  only  in  OT.,  thus  rests  on  the  use  in  New  Hebrew  (see 
Levy)  and  on  the  VV. — 22.  V?;^  .  .  .  ni3^^]  Hiphils  with  syncope  of  n  ;  but 
point  rather  hh:^  ,  .  .  niasV  :  cp.  v.",  and  see  Konig,  ii.  278  f. 

23.  The  words  of  the  curse  are  now  written  down  and 
then  washed  off  into  the  water.  Evidently  the  original 
purpose  was  to  impart  an  actual  efficacy  to  the  potion. 
Potions  into  which  written  words  have  been  washed  off  are 
widely  credited  with  particular  virtues.  In  Tibet  "the 
eating  of  a  paper  on  which  a  charm  has  been  written  is  an 
ordinary  way  of  curing  disease";  in  Egypt  "the  most 
approved  mode  of  charming  away  sickness  or  disease  is  to 
write  certain  passages  of  the  Koran  on  the  inner  surface 
of  an  earthenware  cup  or  bowl ;  then  to  pour  in  some 
water,  and  stir  it  until  the  writing  is  quite  washed  off: 
when  the  water,  with  the  sacred  words  thus  infused  in  it, 
is   to  be   drunk  by   the  patient."  *      The   potion   thus   has 

*  L.  A.  Waddell,  The  Buddhism  of  Tibet  (Lond.  1896),  401  ;  Lane, 
op.  cit.  233 ;  cp.  Koberle,  Natur  u.  Geist,  165  f. 


V.  22-29  55 

two  distinct  ingredients — the  dust,  v.^'^,  and  the  words  of 
the  curse,  while  the  term  "  water  of  bitterness  "  may  preserve 
a  reminiscence  of  a  third.  It  is  not  improbable  that  we  have 
here  a  fusion  of  originally  distinct  modes  of  preparing-  such 
potions:  cp.  below,  pp.  60,  62  f. — A  book]  "IDD  simply  means 
anything  fit  to  receive  writing  ;  cp.  BDB.  s.v.  3.  The  Mishnah 
{Sotah  ii.  4)  specifies  the  character  of  the  material  on  which 
and  with  which  the  words  are  written. — 24.  The  woman  drinks 
the  potion.  Since  the  tenses  are  consecutive,  the  present  text 
can  only  mean  that,  after  she  has  drunk,  the  priest  performs 
the  ritual  of  the  meal-offering,  v.^^-^^*,  and  after  that  gives  the 
woman  a  second  draught,  v. 2^^.  Two  draughts  are  unlikely ; 
and,  if  intended,  would  probably  have  been  more  clearly  ex- 
pressed by  the  addition  of  "again"  or  **a  second  time"  in 
y  26b^  The  alternatives  for  meeting  the  difficulty  are  much 
as  in  v.^^~-^,  only  there  is  less  to  be  said  against  the  theory 
of  intentional  fusion  of  sources  here ;  if  a  compiler  could  kill 
Korah  and  his  company  twice  over  (16^^"^^),  he  would  not 
have  hesitated  to  give  the  woman  two  draughts  instead  of 
one.  Still  unintentional  disarrangement  and  glossing  may 
suffice  to  account  for  the  text.  Possibly  v.^*''  stood  originally 
after  v."^^ ;  but,  except  for  a  fragment  (if  original)  at  the  be- 
ginning of  v.^'^,  became  accidentally  disarranged,  and  was 
then  completed  by  the  addition  of  v.^^''  from  v.^^;  v.^^''  may 
(as  Stade  also  suggests)  originally  have  been  an  explicative 
gloss ;  that  such  was  necessary  is  seen  from  the  dispute  in 
Sotah  iii.  2  as  to  the  order  of  drinking  and  offering.  —  Wave 
.  .  .  before  Vahwe/i]  the  rite  of  waving  (6^*^  8^^  n.)  is,  in  the 
case  of  the  meal-off"ering,  exceptional  (18^^  n.).  —  26a.  See 
Lev.  2^. — 27.  And  he  shall  make  her  drink  the  -water]  strictly 
a  third  draught ;  fflr  &  omit  the  words.  Otherwise,  see  on 
v.2^. — 28.  And  she  shall  conceive  seed]  the  phrase  yiT  nj?~iTJl  is 
the  precise  legal  equivalent  of  the  popular  word  mn  used 
in  11^2,  and  28  times  besides  in  JE,  but  never  by  P.  Though 
rendered  by  RV.  in  the  same  way,  the  present  phrase  is 
not  quite  the  same  as  is  used  in  Lev.  12^,  which  rather 
means  "to  be  delivered,  bring  forth  seed"  (cp.  Gn.  i^"-). — 
29-31.  A  subscription  summarising  the  occasion  of  the  law 


56  NUMBERS 

and  the  manner  of  puttings  it  into  force. —  This  is  the  I aiv  of .  .  .] 
cp.  Lev.  i532f.  i2"bj  both  at  the  conclusion  of  laws  beg-inning 
in  a  manner  closely  resembling"  the  present  law;  with  v.^^^- 
cp.  Lev.  15^^-  12"-.  The  phrase  (n*iin  n^^T)  is  used  in  all  once 
in  Ezek.  (43^^)  ^nd  8  times  in  P  (Lev.  ii^e  12^  13^9  1482.57  1^32) 
at  the  end,  and  6  times  (621,  Lev.  &■  7-  ^s  f-  n,  Nu.  6^3)  at  the 
beginning-  of  a  law;  in  the  form  min  n\~in  riNT  it  occurs  at 
the  beginning  in  Lev.  14^,  and  in  the  form  'b  minn  DNf  at  the 
end  in  Lev.  7^''  14^*.  Usage,  therefore,  does  not  call  for  the 
hypothesis  (Stade,  CH.)  that  it  is  here  the  introduction  to  a 
misplaced  superscription. — 30.  Then  shall  he  set  the  woman] 
subject  "the  man";  in  v.^^  the  priest. — 3L  The  man  is,  in 
any  event,  even  if  the  ordeal  prove  his  suspicion  unfounded, 
free  of  guilt ;  the  woman  alone  can  be  proved  g-uilty.  The 
law  does  not  directly  state  the  time  within  which  the  potion 
must  work  to  convict ;  but  from  the  nature  of  the  case  a 
comparatively  speedy  result  must  have  been  expected :  if 
the  accused  is  to  be  reg^arded  as  pregnant,  the  term  of 
pregnancy  would  be  an  outside  limit.  In  any  case,  the 
theory  of  Sotah  iii.  4  (cp.  5),  that  merit  mig-ht  defer  the 
effect  as  long-  as  three  years,  is  obviously  not  original. 
Josephus,  an  earlier  witness,  makes  it  ten  months  at  longest ; 
for,  if  innocent,  she  bears  a  boy  within  that  period — a  view 
that  probably  enough  already  underlies  v.^^. 

23.  DnD  'd]  ©  F  +  omNDn  (cp.|IJ  in  v.^^'-  ^) ;  S  DrnxDn  d'DH  (cp.  p?  in  v.22). 
— 26.  fcpi]  S  substitutes  x:l^'•\n  for  the  rare  verb  j'op  (Lev,  ^  ^'^\). — nmDTN] 
Lev.  2^. — 27.  nn'ni .  .  .  nprni]  not  to  be  explained  with  Str.  as  a  hypothetical, 
as  a  glance  at  Dr.  Terises,  147  f.,  will  show.  The  text  therefore  implies  a 
third  draught ;  but  see  above.  For  nn'ni  read  n'ni  with  S  ;  J^  is  unique  ; 
Dr.  Tenses,  121,  Obs.  2. — 28.  JJ"ii]  ace. ;  Dav.  80. — 30.  C'N  is  the  virtual 
subject  of  the  following  sentence  ;  and  is  placed  before  the  repeated  con- 
junction i^vta)  as  a  new  subject,  replacing  .TlI'N  of  v.-^.  Exact  parallels 
hardly  occur ;  but  for  the  general  principles  involved,  see  Dr.  Tenses, 
160  Obs.,  196 f.,  and  Dav.  146. 

VL  1-21.  The  Nazirite. 

Literature. — Tractate  Nazir  in  Mishnah  and  Talmud  ;  Philo,  De 
Victimis,  c.  xii.  (Mangey,  249  f.)  ;  J.  Spencer,  De  Leg.  Hehr.,  lib.  iii.  diss,  i, 
cap.  6;  Bahr,  Symbolik,  ii.  pp.  430-440;  Vilmar  in  TSK.  1864,  pp.  438-484; 
GvWWnJPTh.  iSSo,  pp.  645-680;  Wurster  in  ZATW.  1884,  pp.  129-133; 
V<Je\\ha.\isQny  Reste  des  Arab.  Heid.^  pp.  117-119;  W.  R.  Smith,  Semites.^ 


V.  3a-vi.  57 

pp.  323-335  (especially  332 f.:  qj.  adclit.  note  K);  Smend,  ATReligionS' 
ffesc/iich/e,^  pp.  152-154;  Budde,  "  Judges"  (m  ITurzer  Hand-Commentar), 
p.  94  f. ;  Frazer,  Golden  Bough,  ^  i.  362-389  (on  primitive  sanctity  of  head 
and  hair) ;  G.  B.  Gray,  "The  Nazirite"  in  Journal  of  Theol.  Studies,  i. 
201-211. 

Here  alone  in  the  Pentateuch  is  any  reference  made  to  the 
Nazirite.  The  law  divides  naturally  into  three  sections,  dealing 
with  (i)  the  general  conditions  to  be  observed  by  a  Nazirite 
during  the  period  of  his  vow — he  is  to  abstain  from  all  in- 
toxicating liquors  and  all  products  of  the  vine,  from  cutting 
his  hair,  and  from  defiling  himself  with  the  dead,  v.^"^;  (2) 
the  case  of  accidental  defilement  by  the  dead,  v.^^^ .  ^2)  the 
offerings  required  and  the  ritual  to  be  followed  at  the  close  of 
the  period  of  the  vow,  v.^^~^^ 

The  Law  has  been  referred  above  (p.  39)  to  P*.  CH.  consider  it  to 
be  in  substance  earlier  than  l'*f,  the  first  section  perhaps  earlier  still.  In- 
dications of  P^,  such  as  "  door  of  the  tent  of  meeting,"  v.^***  '*■  ^^,  and  "  the 
basket  of  unleavened  bread,"  etc.,  v."  (only  in  Ex.  29,  Lev.  S),  must  then 
be  "  not  original."  The  phraseology  they  consider  closely  approximates 
to  H.  Incidental  indications,  in  the  present  form  of  the  law,  of  a  com- 
paratively late  date  may  be  found  in  the  demand  for  a  "  he-lamb  "  in  v.'^ 
(see  n.),  in  the  sin-offerings,  and  generally  in  the  precise  regulations  of 
quantities  (see  p.  170  f.). 

Nazirltes  figure  in  some  of  the  earliest  Hebrew  stories,  the 
stories  about  Samson  (Jud.  13-16).  In  the  8th  cent.  B.C. 
Nazlrites  were  numerous  (Am.  2^^^-).*  In  the  2nd  cent.  B.C. 
they  were  also  numerous  (i  Mac.  s'*^'-),  and  continued  so  down 
to  the  final  destruction  of  the  temple  (Jos.  Ant.  xix.  6^ ;  Nazir, 
passivi).  But  it  would  be  unsafe,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact 
wrong,  to  assume  that  the  same  conditions  were  either  fulfilled 
by,  or  required  of,  all  Nazirites  during  the  thousand  years  or 
more  covered  by  these  references. 

The  law  of  the  Nazirite  is  a  law  to  regulate  an  already 
existing  institution,  and  that  more  especially  as  it  is  brought 
into  connection  with  the  priesthood  through  the  offerings 
demanded  of  a  Nazirite  on  the  interruption  or  completion  of 

*  Indirect  evidence  of  the  prominence  of  Nazirites  in  pre-exilic  Israel  is 
furnished  by  the  metaphorical  use  of  tij  in  Lev.  25"'  ^^  of  the  unclipped 
vine.  There  seems  no  sufficient  reason  for  substituting  "V^ii  for  TH  io  these 
passages  with  Gratz  and  Che.  {EBi.  3364). 


58  NUMBERS 

his  vow.  The  law  thus  presupposes  that  persons  become 
Nazirites  for  a  specified  time  only ;  it  makes  no  provision  for 
the  case  of  a  lifelong-  Nazirite  such  as  Samson.  This  fact 
would  be  explained  if  lifelong-  Nazirites  were  unknown  at  the 
time  of  the  law.  A  more  usual,  and  perhaps  a  sufficient, 
explanation  accounts  for  the  absence  of  any  reference  to  the 
lifelong  Nazirites  by  the  fact  that  these,  since  they  took 
no  terminable  vow  and  offered  no  special  offerings,  were 
never  brought  into  any  special  relation  with  the  priests. 

Nazirites  answering  to  the  description  contained  in  the 
law,  in  so  far  at  least  as  their  vows  are  for  a  definite  period, 
appear  somewhat  frequently  in  later  Jewish  history.  Perhaps 
the  best  proof  of  this  is  Nazir\  the  tract  throughout  implies 
that  Nazirites  who  took  the  vow  for  a  definite  period  were  very 
numerous;  see  also  i  Mac.  3*®'*;  Jos.  Ant.  xix.  6*^;  and  cp., 
further,  as  probable  references  to  Nazirites,  Jos.  BJ.  ii.  15^; 
Acts  2i^*.  On  the  other  hand,  of  the  existence  of  Nazirites 
of  this  type  before  the  Exile,  we  have  absolutely  no  evidence, 
apart  from  any  inference  which  the  law  may  seem  to  justify. 

As  to  lifelong  Nazirites,  the  case  is  precisely  reversed  : 
they  certainly  existed  before  the  Exile  (Samson ;  cp.  Am.  2^^^- 
and,  perhaps,  i  S.  i^^),  but  whether  there  were  any  lifelong 
Nazirites  in  later  times  is  quite  uncertain.  John  the  Baptist 
has  been  regarded  as  such  on  quite  inadequate  grounds.  He 
is  never  called  a  Nazirite,  nor  is  it  recorded  that  he  left  his 
hair  unshorn.  His  abstinence  from  intoxicants  is  but  an 
element  in  his  ascetic  character  (cp.  Mk.  i^,  Mt.  11^^);  but 
the  Nazirite  was  not  an  ascetic.  The  case  of  James,  "the 
brother  of  the  Lord,"  is  more  to  the  point:  for  though  he, 
too,  is  never  called  a  Nazirite,  yet  the  traditional  description 
of  him  includes  the  chief  characteristics  of  the  Nazirites 
(Euseb.  HE.  ii.  23*). 

Whether  lifelong  devotees  and  persons  who  had  taken  a 
particular  form  of  temporary  vow  were  in  one  and  the  same 
period  alike  termed  Nazirite,  or  whether  it  Was  only  after  life- 
long Nazirites  had  died  out  that  the  name  was  passed  on  to 
persons  under  a  vow  and  distinguished  by  certain  features  that 
had   marked   the  lifelong   Nazirites,    the   evidence   does   not 


VI.  I-2I  59 

allow  us  to  determine  for  certain.  But  In  any  case  there  is 
a  marked  difference  between  the  two  classes. 

What,  then,  are  the  permanent  and  universal  elements  in 
Naziriteship  ?  The  most  certain  and,  as  Grill  (p.  666)  seems 
to  have  been  the  first  to  sug-gest,  possibly  the  only  one,  was 
the  abstinence  from  cutting  the  hair.  The  almost  invariable 
reference  to  this  when  Nazirites  are  mentioned,  the  part  that 
Samson's  hair  plays  in  the  stories  about  him,  the  transference 
of  the  term  Nazirite  to  the  undipped  vine,  all  indicate  that 
this  was,  in  early  times,  the  most  marked  and,  as  it  proved, 
the  essential  and  most  abiding  mark  of  a  Nazirite. 

Whether  abstinence  from  intoxicants  was  also  a  permanent 
element  in  Naziriteship  is  far  more  doubtful.  Samson,  like 
the  young  men  of  his  day,  gave  feasts ;  but  we  are  not  told, 
and  it  is  precarious  to  infer  from  Jud.  13*-  ^*,  that,  unlike 
the  young  men  of  his  day,  he  abstained  either  at  these  or  at 
other  times  from  intoxicants.  Perhaps  it  is  most  reasonable 
to  infer  from  Am.  2^^^-  that  the  custom  of  Nazirites  to  abstain 
from  7vme  was  as  ancient  as  the  8th  cent.  B.C.,  but  the  passage 
may  be  parallel  in  thought  to  Is.  28^  and  simply  mean :  You 
stopped  the  activity  of  the  Nazirites  by  making  them  intoxicated, 
and  the  messages  of  the  prophets  by  forbidding  them  to  speak. 

Clearly  Nazirites  like  Samson  (Jud.  14^^  15^)  were  not 
bound  by  the  prohibition  in  the  law  of  coming  into  contact 
with  the  dead.  Further,  while  the  Nazirites  of  the  law  took  a 
vow,  Samson  did  not,  nor,  as  it  would  seem,  the  Nazirites  of 
the  time  of  Amos ;  they  rather  are  Nazirites,  as  others  were 
prophets,  by  divine  appointment  (cp.  Jud.  13^,  Jer.  1^). 

There  is  reason  for  believing  that  every  custom  in  the  law 
is  in  itself  ancient :  the  question  is,  did  the  particular  com- 
bination of  customs  recognised  in  the  law  exist  In  early  times  ? 
did  persons  practise  this  particular  combination  of  customs, 
or,  so  doing,  did  they  then  go  by  the  name  of  Nazirites  ? 
Hebrews,  In  early  times,  certainly  took  vows ;  they  believed 
that  contact  with  the  dead  produced  uncleanness,  and  that 
this  uncleanness  must  be  more  rigorously  guarded  against  by 
some  persons  than  others ;  there  Is  reason  for  concluding  that 
some  persons  at  an  early  time  may  have  abstained  not  only 


60  NUMBERS 

from  all  intoxicants,  but  from  all  products  of  the  vine.  But 
all  this  does  not  prove  that  Nazirites,  such  as  those  indicated 
in  the  law,  were  known  in  early  Israel.  They  may  have  been. 
But  if  they  were,  Nazirites  of  this  type  had  but  little  public 
significance ;  they  are  quite  unlike  Samson  or  the  Nazirites 
who  are  coupled  by  Amos  with  prophets.  Into  the  significance 
of  these  lifelong  Nazirites  we  cannot  further  inquire  here. 

It  appears  most  probable  to  the  present  writer  that  the 
combination  of  observances  in  the  law  is  not  ancient,  that  in 
the  regulations  for  the  Nazirites  of  later  times  we  see  a  fusion 
of  several  originally  distinct  customs  which,  like  many  others 
(see  above,  p.  47),  had  lost  much  and,  in  some  cases,  all  of 
their  original  meaning ;  and  that  it  would  be  altogether  wrong 
to  attribute  to  the  Nazirites  regulated  by  the  law  anything  of 
the  public  or  religious  significance  of  the  earlier  Nazirites  or 
even  of  the  Rechabites. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  living  significance  of  the  Nazirlte- 
vow  appears  to  have  lain  In  the  expense  of  the  sacrifices  In- 
volved ;  perhafis,  also,  in  the  inconvenience  involved  by  the 
conditions  of  life  during  the  term  of  the  vow.  Men  undertook 
to  become  Nazirites  In  return  for  some  special  manifestation 
of  the  divine  favour  shown,  for  instance.  In  restoration  to 
health,  or  the  birth  of  a  child  (Jos.  BJ.  11.  15^ ;  Nazir  11.  7) ;  at 
times  also  for  purely  trivial  reasons ;  indeed,  if  we  may  trust 
Nazir  (v.  5flf.),  the  Nazirite  vow  degenerated  into  a  bet; 
e.g.  of  two  men  walking  together  and  seeing  some  one  at  a 
distance,  one  says  to  the  other,  **  I'll  be  a  Nazirite  If  that  man 
is  not  so-and-so."  The  purely  private  nature  of  the  later 
Nazirite  appears  in  these  illustrations. 

The  Nazirite  vow  has  considerable  resemblances  (though 
not  without  differences)  to  the  Arabic  IJiram  thus  described  by 
Wellhausen  {Arab.  Heid.  116):  "When  anyone  Intends  to 
undertake  the  Hagg  he  submits  himself  as  a  matter  of  course 
to  the  condition  of  those  bound  by  a  vow.  This  condition  is 
termed  Ihram.  The  Ihram  is  not  the  actual  content  or  purport 
of  the  vow ;  It  is  only  a  restraint  laid  upon  a  person  making 
the  vow  that  he  may  exercise  all  zeal  in  his  holy  duty.  This 
restraint  consists  especially  of  certain  troublesome  abstinences 


VI.  1-3  6 1 

which  cease  when  the  vow  is  discharged.  .  .  .  The  purpose 
of  the  Ihram  is  the  oflfering-.  The  offering-  brings  the  Ihram  to 
an  end.  It  is  the  accomphshment,  consequently  also  the  real 
purport,  of  the  vow.  After  the  offering  has  been  made,  the 
hair  is  cut  off." 

1,  2a.  Cp.  5^  n. — 2.  JV/iejt  any  man  or  wofnaiz]  It  was  prob- 
ably not  unusual  for  a  woman  to  take  the  vow,  subject  to  the 
conditions  of  30^*^-  (cp.  Nasir  iv.  i  f.).  Nazir  significantly 
employs  the  fem.  form  (m''?3)  for  women,  and  mentions  in 
particular  Queen  Helena's  vow  (iii.  6).  Bernice's  vow  may 
also  have  been  that  of  a  Nazirite  (Jos.  BJ.  ii.  15^). — Shall 
discharge  a  vow^  precise  meaning  uncertain ;  see  phil.  n. — A 
Na3irite\  etymologically  the  term  means  one  separated,  or 
who  separates  himself,  or,  even  more  definitely,  one  devoted  ; 
in  usage  it  is,  perhaps,  an  abbreviation  of  the  full  phrase  iMJ 
DM^X  which  occurs  in  Judges,  just  as  IT'tJ'D  is  often  used  briefly 
in  the  sense  of  nin"'  rT't^D,  and  means  one  who  separates  or 
devotes  himself  to  God,  a  religious  devotee :  cp.  the  verbal 
phrase  ''"''  h  TTh!?  v.^-  ^'- 12.  The  vb.  followed  by  p  (and  in 
Zech.  7^  used  absolutely)  has,  like  the  Arabic  c_j  jilv.',  the  mean- 
ing "to  separate  oneself,  or  abstain,  from  certain  things": 
cp.  v.^*  ^^.  But  this  scarcely  justifies  giving  Nazirite  the  sense 
of  "  abstainer."*  In  Gn.  49^^  =  Dt.  33^*^,  the  word  may  retain 
a  religious  sense,  or  it  may  have  been  transferred  from  the  sense 
of  religious  separation  to  that  of  simple  distinction.  Such  a 
transference  from  the  religious  sense  certainl}'  takes  place  in  the 
case  of  1T3,  which  means  (i)  the  state  of  consecration  or  devotion, 
v.*- 8,  cp.  v.^;  (2)  the  symbol  of  such  a  state,  especially  the 
Nazirite's  hair,  v.^^ ;  (3)  the  hair  of  an  unconsecrated  person, 
Jer.  72^.1 — 3.  First  regulation  :  the  Nazirite  is  to  abstain  from 
all  intoxicating  liquors  and  all  products  of  the  vine  during 
the  term  of  his  vow. — Strong  drink'\  '\'2^  is  a  general  term  for 
intoxicating  beverages  without  reference  to  the  material  from 
which  they  are  made.  It  may  therefore  include  wine,  as  it 
appears  to  do  in  28'^,  but  more  commonly  the  two  terms  are 

•  Cp.  Hoffmann  in  ZATW.  iii.  loo. 

t  See,  further,  Grill,  p.  660;  We.  Reste  des  Arab,  Heidentums,^  117  f-i 
167  ;  BDB.  634,  and  further  references  there. 


62  NUMBERS 

used  together  as  an  exhaustive  expression  for  intoxicants 
(Lev.  lo^,  Is.  5^^  24^,  Pr.  20^^  S^^)-  — Vinegar  of  wine  and 
vinegar  of  strong  drin'k\  the  Hebrews  appear  to  have  prepared 
their  vinegar,  or  whatever  other  acid  drink  may  be  covered 
by  the  term  fcn  (Ru.  2^*,  Ps.  69^-),  from  intoxicants  gone 
sour ;  a  poor  form  of  English  vinegar  is  still  largely  obtained 
from  sour  beer,  and  much  of  the  continental  vinegar  from  sour 
wine. — Dried  grapes\  compressed  into  cakes,  constituted  an 
article  of  ordinary  consumption  (2  S.  6^^,  Cant.  2^),  and  were 
also  eaten  at  sacrificial  feasts  (Hos.  3^). — 4.  All  the  days  of  his 
Naziriteship  he  shall  eat  nothing  that  is  borne  by  the  grape-vine, 
not  even  unripe  grapes  {?)  or  tendrils  {?).  The  general  idea  is 
conveyed  more  briefly  and  by  a  different  idiom  in  Jud.  13^* — 
"nothing  that  comes  forth  from  (i<^"')  the  grape-vine."  The 
verb  ^t^'y  here  used  of  what  a  tree  bears  or  produces  is,  of 
course,  common  in  that  sense  (cp.  e.g.  Gn.  i^^,  Job  14^). 
But  would  it  be  natural  to  speak  of  the  vine  producing  "  pips  " 
and  "  skins  "  (RV.  "  kernels  "  and  "  husk  ")  ?  If  not,  the  tradi- 
tional interpretation  of  the  obscure  aira^  Xeyo/xeva  D''3^'~in  and 
3T  falls  through.  The  translations  of  the  two  words  here  given 
(after  Di.)  are  uncertain,  and  merely  to  be  regarded  as  ap- 
proximating to  the  exact  meaning.     See  phil.  n. 

In  v.^**we  have  two  quite  distinct  rules — (i)  abstinence  from  intoxi- 
cants ;  (2)  avoidance  of  anytliing  connected  with  the  vine.  For  both  we 
have  analogies  both  among  the  Hebrews  and  elsewhere.  With  (i)  cp.  the 
restriction  laid  on  the  Jewish  priest  during'  service  (Lev.  10®),  and  on  Brah- 
manas,  Kshatriyas,  and  Vaisyas  in  the  Laws  of  Manu  (xi.  91-98) :  see, 
further,  Frazer,  GB.  i.  359  f. ;  with  (2)  cp.  the  restrictions  laid  on  the 
Rechabites  (Jer.  35^'*),  and  on  the  Roman  Flamen  Dialis,  who  was  not 
allowed  even  to  touch  the  vine  (Plut.  Qiicest.  R0771.  112;  cp.  Vilmar,  p.  470  ff. ; 
Frazer,  GB.  241  f.).  The  Nabataeans  were  forbidden  to  sow  or  plant  any 
fruit-bearing  plant,  or  to  build  houses,  or  to  use  wine  (Diod.  Sic.  xix.  94.  3). 
The  original  reason  for  the  latter  rule  has  been  sought  in  the  attempt  of 
certain  classes  to  maintain  a  more  primitive  mode  of  life  ;  the  cultivation 
of  the  vine,  though  not  the  use  of  intoxicants  as  such,  is  one  of  the  most 
marked  differences  between  the  nomadic  life,  which  was  that  of  the 
Hebrews  before  their  settlement  in  Canaan,  and  the  settled  agricultural 
life  (W.  R.  Smith,  Prophets,'^  84  f.).  But  in  later  times  avoidance  of  the 
vine  and  its  products  in  all  forms  must  have  lost  much  or  all  of  its  original 
meaning ;  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  we  ought  to  seek  any  living  mean- 
ing for  the  rule  in  the  law.  The  prohibition  of  all  intoxicants  might,  if 
ancient,    in   the   case   of  the   Nazirite,   be  explained  by  the  belief  that 


vr.  4-H5  63 

intoxication  is  caused  by  the  entrance  of  a  spirit  into  man  (for  illustrations, 
see  Frazer,  GB.  i.  359?.)  combined  with  the  fundamental  Hebrew  belief 
that  intercourse  with  other  spirits  than  Yahweh  is  unlawful ;  but  it  is, 
perhaps,  in  the  case  of  the  Nazirite  an  extension  of  the  prohibition  of 
wine  when  the  real  meaning  of  that  had  been  lost.  The  most  we  can 
infer  about  the  Nazirites  of  the  time  of  Amos  is  that  they  were  forbidden 
■wine ;  for  all  we  know,  both  they  and  the  Rechabites  may  have  drunk 
other  intoxicants.  The  general  Mohammedan  prohibition  of  wine,  which 
was  only  gradually  made  stringent  by  the  prophet,  may  have  found  a 
starting-point  in  the  opposition  to  the  vine  among  some  of  the  Arabs,  such 
as  the  Nabataeans  referred  to  above ;  but  abstention  on  moral  grounds 
from  all  intoxicants  was  practised  by  some  Arabs  before  Mohammed  ;  and 
the  commentators,  in  accordance  with  the  prevailing  theory  in  Islam, 
have  interpreted  the  passages  in  the  Koran  as  a  prohibition  of  all  intoxi- 
cants— Koran  2"®  4^"  5^-^-  16**  (with  Beidawi  on  the  passages) ;  Muir, 
Mahomet,  iii.  300  f.,  ^  300  ;  Sprenger,  Mohammad,  i.  387  f. 

5.  Second  regulation  :  the  Nazirite  is  not  to  cut  his  hair. — 
The  treatment  of  the  hair,  originally  the  most  prominent 
feature  of  the  Nazirite,  takes  the  second  place  in  the  law 
(cp.  I  S.  i^^  (G),  possibly  because  it  had  ceased  to  be  most 
prominent  when  Naziriteship  came  to  be  merely  a  vow  for 
a  short  period. — No  razor  shall  pass  over  his  head]  cp.  8'^ ; 
another  phrase  with  the  same  meaning  in  Jud.  13^  16^'^, 
I  S.  i^^.  For  shaving  the  head  bald  (rhi),  and  for  trimming  or 
shortening  the  hair  (DOa),  Hebrew  had  different  words.  The 
meaning  here  is  that  the  hair  is  to  be  in  no  way  trimmed  or 
shortened;  cp.  clause  d;  and  for  the  origin  of  the  custom, 
see  p.  68  f.  The  rule  cannot,  of  course,  be  a  mere  taboo  on 
the  use  of  iron,  such  as  forbade  iron  and  required  bronze 
razors  to  be  used  in  shaving  the  Roman  and  Sabine  priests 
(Frazer,  GB.  i.  371,  344  ff.;  cp.  Vilmar,  455  ff.).  The  present 
regulation  sharply  distinguishes  the  Nazirite  from  the  priests 
(Lev.  lo*^  21^'',  Ezek.  44^''),  with  whom  he  is  associated  by  the 
preceding  and  following. — 6  f.  Third  regulation :  the  Nazirite 
is  to  avoid  uncleanness  through  contact  with  a  dead  body, 
even  though  it  be  that  of  his  nearest  relative.  In  this  respect 
the  Nazirite  is  more  stringently  bound  than  any  one,  except 
the  high  priest  (Lev.  21^^) ;  ct.  the  case  of  the  ordinary  priests, 
Lev.  21^^-.  This  regulation  was  clearly  not  observed  by 
Samson  (cp.  Jud.  14^^  15^).  In  the  Mishnah  the  difficulty  is 
solved  by  the  assumption  that  there  were  two  types  of  life- 


64  NUMBERS 

long-  Nazirites — (i)  The  Samson  type  {Vl2'y  "i"?:),  who  was 
forbidden  to  trim  his  hair  but  allowed  to  contract  unclean- 
ness  from  the  dead  without  being  subject  to  the  necessity  of 
making  the  offerings  required  by  v.^^^.  (2)  The  (ordinary) 
Nazirite  for  life  (D^iy  TT:),  who  might  clip  his  hair  on  condition 
that  he  made  the  offerings  required  in  v.^^~^*^,  but  was  obliged 
to  make  the  offerings  of  v.^^^  every  time  he  was  defiled  by 
the  dead  [Nasir  1.  2).  No  doubt  the  real  explanation  is  that 
avoidance  of  uncleanness  by  the  dead  formed  no  part  of  a 
Nazirite's  duty  in  early  times.  When  or  how  it  became  such 
we  cannot  say ;  but,  as  in  the  case  of  the  high  priest,  it  was 
due  to  the  extreme  degree  of  sanctity  attaching  to  the 
Nazirite ;  cp.  v.^. 

2.  '3  nrx  IK  cn]  5"  n. — n^?:]  MT.  distingiiishes  the  verb  here  and  in 
Lev.  272  as  Hiphil  from  15*- ^  Lev.  22-^  Piel,  In  |^  Piel  may  have  been 
intended  in  all  cases.  The  Hiphil  elsewhere  is  used  differently.  "To 
make  a  special  vow"(RV.)  is  unsuitable  in  the  other  passages,  and  is 
not  required  here;  "to  discharge  or  accomplish  a  vow"  is  a  sense  that 
satisfies  all  passages,  though  how  it  was  acquired  is  not  clear :  otherwise 
Grill,  656  ff.  miV  after  n'?:'  may  be  dittographic  from  in: ;  cp.  the  parallels 
cited  above. — 3.  D'3:j;  r\~^'6\  probably  grape  juice  or  liquor  made  from 
grapes;    so   Di.    Paterson,    taking  mro   from  mB'  =  ,_j5Z   (a   derivative 

from  which  is  here  used  in  5)=  ^  .5  ="to  be  moist"  ;  Assyr.  mesr{l  = 
"moisture"  (so  Haupt  in  SBOT.). — jsnn]  the  meaning  of  this  word  and  of 
ii  was  already  lost  to  the  earliest  extant  tradition.  Hebrew  interpreters 
explained  the  words  of  the  grape-stone  and  the  skin  of  the  grape,  but 
differed  as  to  which  meant  which  {Nazir  vi.  2  ;  see  also  Levy,  i.  5176, 
ii.  116).  In  (5  \ir\n  =  (jTkfX(l)vKKov  (a  mass  of  pressed  grapes)  and  Ji  =  7(70^x01' 
(grape-stone) ;  similarly  5.  The  etymology  is  indecisive ;  it  has  been 
suggested  that  grape-stones  were  called  jisnn  from  their  acrid  taste  (pn  = 
"to  cut");  but  the  Hebrews  thought  of  the  effect  of  such  a  taste  as 
blunting  (Ezek.  1 1-).  Ji,  too,  has  been  explained  as  the  pellucid  skiji  (from 
jJi="tobe  clear";  cp.  m  in  NewHebrew="a  glazier").  With  \i-\x\  = 
"  unripe  grapes,"  cp.  (*  f^s-  in  the  same  sense.  On  traditional  interpreta- 
tions, see  more  fully  Ges.  Thes. — 5.  b-nt  nyc  vns  "?^J]  the  antithesis  is  n'?  visi 
inVr'  Ezek.  44"".  Vis  (s^^n.)  is  omitted  by  5.  On  S-v^,  (Inf.  abs.),  seeO.-K.  1 13A. 

9-12.  Accidental  defilement  and  its  consequences. — A  Nazirite 
who  comes  accidentally  into  contact  with  the  dead  is  defiled ; 
on  the  seventh  day  after  the  accident  he  regains  his  cleanness. 
He  must  then  be  shorn,  and  on  the  following  day  offer  a 
sin-offering  and  a  burnt-offering,  each  consisting  of  a  turtle 


VI.  2-10  65 

dove  or  young  pigeon.  He  then  regains  his  sanctity,  and 
must  thereafter  keep  the  whole  original  period  of  his  vow. 
Finally,  he  offers  a  young  sheep  as  a  guilt-offering. 

The  conditions  under  which  defilement  from  the  dead  Is 
contracted  are  given  in  c.  ig,  and  more  minutely  in  their 
application  to  the  Nazirite  in  NazirxW.  2f. 

9.  And  he  defile  the  head]  the  act  of  defilement  is  attributed 
to  the  Nazirite,  though  his  contact  with  the  dead  is  uninten- 
tional. But  unintentional  sin  plays  a  large  part  in  the  priestly 
law,  as  indeed  elsewhere,  Ps.  igi3(i2)  gQS^ — jjg  shall  shave  his 
head]  cp.  v.^  n. — The  law  does  not  state  what  is  to  be  done 
with  the  hair  in  this  case  (ct.  v.^^) ;  but  the  Mishnah  records 
what,  we  need  not  question,  was  the  ancient  practice.  This 
hair  was  buried  [Tenifirah  vii.  4) — buried,  as  analogy  suggests, 
because  unclean,  and  therefore  dangerous  (W.  R.  Smith,  Ret. 
6"^^.!  350  ff.,  2  369  fir.). 

The  following-  instances,  taken  from  Frazer's  GB.  t.  387-389,  will 
throw  light  on  the  probable  origin  and  original  significance  of  the  rite  : 
"At  Hierapolis  no  man  might  enter  the  great  temple  of  Astarte  on  the 
same  day  on  which  he  had  seen  a  corpse  ;  next  day  he  might  enter,  pro- 
vided he  had  first  purified  himself.  But  the  kinsmen  of  the  deceased  were 
not  allowed  to  set  foot  in  the  sanctuary  for  thirty  days  after  the  death, 
and  before  doing  so  they  had  to  shave  their  heads  "  (Lucian,  Dea  Syria,  53). 
In  ancient  India  mourners  at  the  "  end  of  the  period  of  mourning  cut  their 
hair  and  nails,  and  use  new  vessels."  "At  Agweh  (W.  Africa)  widows  and 
widowers  at  the  end  of  their  period  of  mourning  wash  themselves,  shave 
their  heads,  pare  their  nails,  and  put  on  new  cloths ;  and  the  old  cloths, 
the  shorn  hair,  and  the  nail-parings  are  all  burnt."  A  practice  is  observed 
by  some  Australians  "of  burning  off  part  of  a  woman's  hair  after  child- 
birth, as  well  as  burning  every  vessel  which  has  been  used  by  her  during 
her  seclusion.  Here  the  burning  of  the  woman's  hair  seems  plainly 
intended  to  serve  the  same  purpose  as  the  burning  of  the  vessels  used  by 
her  ;  and  as  the  vessels  are  burned  because  they  are  believed  to  be 
tainted  with  a  dangerous  infection,  so,  we  must  suppose,  is  also  the  hair." 

On  the  day  of  his  (recovered)  cleanness]  no  special  act  of 
cleansing  (cp.  RV.)  takes  place  on  this  day,  but  the  effects 
of  defilement  have  by  this  time  become  exhausted:  cp.  19^- 
**  On  the  seventh  day  he  shall  be  clean."  The  more  active 
process  of  propitiation  follows  on  the  next  day ;  so  also 
Lev.  15^^"^^. — 10  f.  The  Nazirite,  in  spite  of  his  superior 
sanctity,   does  not  suffer  longer   than   an    ordinary  Israelite 

S 


66  NUMBERS 

from  the  effects  of  defilement ;  but  the  rites  are  more  elaborate. 
The  ordinary  man  simply  had  to  be  sprinkled  with  the  "  water 
of  uncleanness  "  (see  on  19^),  and  was  not  required  to  present 
offering's.  The  offering's  exacted  of  the  Nazirite  after  defile- 
ment (two  turtle  doves  or  young  pigeons)  appear  also  in 
other  connections,  Lev.  5^  52^  i^sof.  i^i^f.  29t.^  jj-  ^y^g  ^}^g 
least  burdensome  form  of  animal  sacrifice  (cp.  Lev.  5^  12^). 
The  main  part  of  the  expense  to  which  a  Nazirite  was  put  in 
the  case  of  an  interrupted  vow  was  due  to  the  guilt-offering, 
which  was  also  required,  and  consisted  of  a  yearling-  he- 
lamb,  v.^^. — 11.  And  he  shall  hallow  his  head]  the  subject  is 
the  Nazirite ;  he  rehallows,  after  defiling  (v.^),  his  head. — 
12.  And  he  shall  separate  unto  Yahweh  the  days  of  his 
separation]  he  shall,  after  recovering  his  cleanness,  observe 
his  vow  for  the  full  length  of  time  originally  devoted,  since 
the  days  before  his  defilement  are  not  allowed  to  count. 
According-  to  the  Mishnah  [Nazir  iii.  6),  Queen  Helena  (fl. 
50  A.D.),  just  at  the  close  of  the  seven  years  for  which  she 
had  taken  the  vow,  was  accidentally  defiled  by  a  corpse,  and 
consequently  had  to  keep  the  vow  for  a  further  term  of  seven 
years. — A  he-lamb  .  .  .  for  a  giiiU-offering\  the  reason  for  the 
guilt-offering-  i^asham),  is  not  stated,  nor  is  it  clear.  Possibly, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  guilt-offering  demanded  of  a  cleansed 
leper  (Lev.  14^^-  ^^),  it  is  for  some  unknown  sin  which  was 
certainly,  as  the  argument  of  Job's  friends  shows  us,  according 
to  the  thought  of  the  time  (cp.  even  later,  Jn.  9^),  the  cause 
of  such  misfortunes  as  leprosy,  and  may  perhaps  have  been 
considered  the  cause  of  such  misadventures  as  a  Nazirite's 
defilement  by  the  dead  (Di.).  Others  explain  the  guilt-offering 
here  as  a  recompense  to  Yahweh  for  the  delay  in  the  discharge 
of  the  vow  (Sta.  GVI.  ii.  257;  Now.). 

9.  DNn£3  j?nsa]  lit.  "in  an  instant,  instantly,"  and  so  "very  suddenly," 
G.-K.  133?  end.  The  two  words  appear  to  be  pure  synonyms  (cp. 
Pr.  6^^)  and  in  origin  identical,  CNns  being-  a  softened  form  of  oi'jp?.  Cp. 
Assyr.  ina  pitti  and  ina  pitiimma,  both  ="  instantly  "  (Del.  Assyr.  Hand- 
Tuorterbuch,  p.  553^). 

13-20. — The  rites  at  the  conclusion  of  the  vow. — At  the 
conclusion  of  the  vow  the  Nazirite  is  to  offer  a  burnt-offering, 


VI.  II-I5  67 

a  sin-offering",  and  a  peace-offering-,  together  with  the  custom- 
ary meal-offerings  and  libations,  v.^^~^^.  After  these  have 
been  presented  by  the  priest,  v.^''^-,  the  Nazirite  is  to  shave  off 
his  hair  at  the  door  of  the  tent  and  to  burn  it  on  the  sacred 
fire,  v.^^.  After  this  the  priest  is  to  make  a  wave-offering  of 
a  portion  of  the  peace-offering  and  the  cereal-offering;  this 
becomes  holy,  and,  as  such,  the  perquisite  of  the  priest.  The 
Nazirite  may  now  drink  wine. 

13a,  Cp.  5-^  n.  —  He  shall  be  brought]  why  the  Nazirite 
should  need  to  be  brought  instead  of  coming  by  himself  it  is 
not  easy  to  see.  Perhaps,  as  Di.  suggests  (see  phil.  n.),  the 
strangeness  of  the  passage  is  due  to  an  interpolation,  and  the 
law  originally  ran — "  In  the  day  when  the  days  of  his  Nazirite- 
ship  are  completed,  he  shall  bring  to  the  door  of  the  tent  of 
meeting  a  yearling  he-lamb  without  blemish  for  a  burnt- 
offering.  .  .  ." — 14.  The  burnt-offering  is  here  mentioned  before 
the  sin-offering  (cp.  Lev.  12^- S;  ct.  v."-i<5),  though  the  latter 
was  presumably  offered  first. — One  he-la?nb]  according  to  the 
Levitical  law  (at  variance  in  this  respect  with  earlier  custom, 
cp.  I  S.  6^^),  which  required  that  animals  for  burnt-offerings 
should  be  of  the  male  sex  (Lev.  i^-^"  22^^^-). —  Without  bleviish] 
Lev.  22^^~25_ — Qfig  ewe-lamb]  the  female  sheep  for  a  sin-offering, 
according  to  Lev.  4^^  5^. — One  ram]  the  animal  for  a  peace- 
offering  might  be  either  male  or  female,  Lev.  3^-  ^. — 15a.  The 
phraseology  here  closely  resembles  Lev.  7^^^ — Cakes]  see  15^^  n. 
Their  meal-offering  and  their  drink-offerings]  i.e.  the  meal- 
offering  and  libations  required  as  the  accompaniment  of  the 
burnt-  and  peace-offerings  just  mentioned;  according  to  15^"*" 
these  would  together  consist  of  x%-  of  a  hin  of  fine  meal  (  = 
about  3  J  pints),  j^  of  a  hin  of  wine,  and  the  same  quantity 
of  oil.  Apparently,  therefore,  the  meaning  of  the  whole  verse 
is  that  the  ordinary  accompaniments  of  the  sacrifices  in  the 
way  of  meal,  oil,  and  wine  are  to  be  presented,  and  also 
a  cereal-offering,  the  character  of  which  is  stated  in  clause 
a,  but  not  the  quantities.  But  the  awkward  way  in  which 
this  is  expressed,  and  especially  the  loose  attachment  of 
clause  b,  may  well  raise  a  question  as  to  the  originality 
of  the  final  clause  of  this  v.  and  consequently  of  v.^^''.     The 


68  NUMBERS 

pronominal  suffixes  (in  Dn'3D3  and  DnnjD)  sliould  refer  to 
all  the  fore-named  offering's,  though,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
they  cannot  refer  to  the  sin-offering',  which  was  never  accom- 
panied by  these  cereal-offerings  and  libations.  For  it  is  too 
hazardous  to  argue  from  Lev.  i/\}°-^^  that  the  sin-offering 
under  exceptional  circumstances  was  accompanied  by  a  meal- 
offering;  cp.  SiphrS  on  the  present  passage.  — 16.  And  the 
priest  shall  present  (them)  before  Vakwek]  y^lprt  refers  to  the 
bringing  of  the  sacrifice  to  the  altar:  cp.  the  alternative 
idiom  5^^. — And  shall  offer  his  sin -offering]  the  verb  here' 
used  (ncy)  is  **  meant  as  a  summary  description  of  the  process 
of  sacrifice"  (Driver  in  Hastings'  DB.  iii.  538^*);  cp.  Ex.  29^^, 
Lev.  9'^. — 17.  With  the  basket  of  u?ileavened  bread]  v.^^*. — Its 
meal-offeHng  and  its  drink-offering]  v.^^^ ;  here  the  suffix  refers 
to  the  ram  of  the  peace-offering;  in  v.^^  the  author  has  not 
thought  it  necessary  to  refer  in  particular  to  the  offerings 
accompanying  the  burnt-offering. — 18.  At  the  door  of  the  tent 
of  meeting]  the  Nazirite  shaves  himself  beside  the  slain 
peace-offering  (cp.  Lev.  3^),  and  then  throws  the  hair  into 
the  fire  'which  is  tinder  the  sacrifice  of  peace -offerings^  i.e. 
into  the  fire  of  the  altar  which  also  stood  at  the  door  of  the 
tent  (Ex.  40*^).  This  is  more  probable  than  the  opinion  *  that 
the  fire  referred  to  is  that  on  which  the  flesh  for  consump- 
tion by  the  priest  and  the  Nazirite  is  being  boiled. — "  Deus 
itaque  comam  dedicandi  et  offerendi  morem  inter  Israelitas 
(populum  Gentilismi  pervicacem)  toleravit :  earn  autem  non 
nisi  ad  ostium  Tabernaculi  vel  Templi  deponi  voluit,  ne  aliter 
populus  ille  crines  suos  in  arbore  sacra  suspenderet,  aut  (ad 
morem  seculi)  fluviis  aut  idolis  consecraret,"  Spencer,  De 
Legibus,  p.  696.  The  treatment  of  the  hair  of  a  Nazirite  who 
has  duly  completed  his  vow  is  clearly  a  survival  of  hair- 
offerings — a  species  of  offerings  widely  spread  in  antiquity, 
and  still  existent  in  more  or  less  primitive  forms  among  many 
peoples.  Samson's  hair,  which  was  never  cut,  cannot  have 
been  intended  for  an  offering.  Thus,  though  the  growth  of  the 
hair  is  commxon  to  the  Nazirites  of  the  early  stories  and  of  the 
law,  the  purpose  in  the  two  cases  is  markedly  different, 

•  tE,°,  Rashi. 


VI.  i6-i8  69 

A  common  belief,  that  the  hair  is  part  of  the  man's  vital  being,  seems 
to  account  for  both  treatments.  If  the  one  main  object  is  to  keep  tlie 
man's  power  and  vitality  at  the  full,  the  hair  is  never  shorn  ;  if  the  object 
is  to  present  the  deity  with  part  of  the  man's  Hfe,  the  hair  is  a  suitable 
means  of  achieving-  this.  Hence  its  frequency  in  offerings.  The  same 
object  is  obtained  in  other  cases  by  chopping  off  and  offering  a  finger. 
Numerous  instances  of  hair-offering  may  be  found  in  the  works  of  W.  R. 
Smith,  Spencer,  and  Frazer,  as  cited  above;  Tylor,  Prim.  Culture,^  ii.  401 ; 
Goldziher,  Muha?n?nedanische  Studieji,  i.  247-251.  Here  it  may  suffice 
to  refer  to  one  or  two :  Lucian  relates  that  in  Syria  the  hair  of  children 
was  cut  off  and  dedicated  to  the  deity  {de  Dea  Syria,  60) ;  in  an  ancient 
Arabic  poem  there  occurs  the  oath — '*  By  him  in  whose  honour  the  hair  is 
shaved  off"  (Goldziher,  249) ;  it  was  customary  with  the  ancient  Arabs 
(Goldziher),  as  it  is  with  the  modern  Bedawin  (Merrill,  East  of  the  Jordan, 
511)  and  New  Zealanders  (Tylor),  to  deposit  the  shorn  hair  at  the  tomb — 
a  sacrificial  act,  and  different  from  the  mere  shaving  of  the  hair  in  mourn- 
ing, which  is  to  be  otherwise  explained  (see  above,  p.  65).  The  sacri- 
ficial nature  of  the  treatment  of  the  hair  was  still  obvious  to  the  later  Jews ; 
and  though  Philo's  explanation  is  highly  refined,  it  so  happens  that  the 
significance  he  attributes  to  the  hair  is  not  far  removed  from  the  primitive 
view ;  the  Nazirite's  vow,  so  he  argues,  is  the  greatest  of  all  vows,  for  it 
is  the  dedication  of  the  man's  self;  but  since  the  altar  may  not  be  polluted 
with  human  blood,  the  man  cannot  be  offered  himself:  hence  the  hair 
as  a  portion  and  representative  of  the  man's  self  is  combined  with  the 
sacrifice.  The  hair-offering  even  gained  a  place  in  Christian  history,  as 
the  case  of  Justinian  and  Heraclius  proves  (Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall, 
ed.  Bury,  v.  169).  The  practice  of  offering  the  hair  is  therefore  in  no 
way  peculiar  to  the  Hebrews,  nor  is  the  origin  to  be  sought  in  peculiar 
Hebrew  beliefs.  All  that  is  peculiar  to  the  religion  of  the  Hebrews  is 
that  the  offering  must  be  made  to  Yahweh  and  not  to  others,  such  as 
the  spirits  of  dead. 

19,  20.  After  the  fat  parts  and  the  viscera  of  the  ram  of  the 
peace-offerings  have  been  burned  on  the  altar  (v.^'^),  according 
to  Lev.  3^"^^  7^'^^-,  the  priest  takes  the  shoulder,  which  has 
meantime  been  boiled,  together  with  one  of  the  cakes  and 
wafers,  v.^*,  and  waves  these  before  the  altar.  After  the 
rite  of  waving-,  these  become  the  property  of  the  priest,  to- 
g-ether with  the  breast  and  the  thigh,  which  fell  to  him  by 
the  general  law  of  the  peace-offering  (Lev.  728-34^  especially 
34  10^2-15^^  'Y\\&  priest  thus  waves  and  receives  a  larger  part 
of  the  Nazirite's  peace-offerings  than  in  ordinary  cases.  The 
peace-offering  was  one  in  which,  even  by  the  priestly  law  (Lev. 
7^^"^^),  the  offerer  partook ;  we  may  therefore  conclude  that 
at  the  close  of  the  specified  ritual  the  discharged  Nazirite, 
together,  as  we  may  assume,  with  his  friends,  partook  of  the 


70  NUMBERS 

sacrificial  meal.  It  may  have  been  customary  to  drink  \\  ine 
at  this  meal ;  and  to  this  the  final  clause  of  the  verse  may 
refer,  though,  of  course,  the  clause  —  And  afterwards  the 
Nazirite  may  drink  wine — may  be  purely  and  simply  permis- 
sive.— 19.  The  shoulder]  in  Dt.  (i8^)  this  forms  one  of  the 
regular  portions  due  to  the  priest. — 20.  The  wave-breast]  so 
RV.  here  and  Lev.  f^  lo^*^-,  Nu.  iS^s,  but  in  Ex.  29^^  '<the 
breast  of  the  wave  -  offeringf . "  The  phrase  simply  means 
the  breast  virhich  was  waved  (cp.  Ex.  29^^^-,  Lev.  7^°),  i.e. 
moved  to  and  fro  (very  probably,  as  tradition  reports,  in 
the  direction  of  the  altar)  as  a  symbol  that  it  vi^as  given  to 
Yahvveh.  —  The  thigh  of  the  contribiitioii]  the  thigh  of  the 
frilmah  (cp.  5^  n.,  15^^  n.)  was  the  right  (Lev.  7^^^  thigh, 
which  was  removed  [htiram,  Ex.  29^'^)  from  the  whole  offering 
to  be  the  priest's  portion  :  cp.  18^^  n. 

13.  nN^r]  G.-K.  74A  ;  Sta.  2o\b,  6igh. — mx  NU']  lit.  "One  shall  bring 
him,"  i.e.  the  Nazirite  shall  be  brought  by  some  person  unnamed  (Dav. 
io8a).  This  is  on  material  grounds  (see  above)  unlikely  here ;  other 
explanations  of  the  text  are,  however,  even  more  open  to  objection.  Rashi 
explains  it,  "  he  shall  bring  himself"  ;  but  the  parallels  for  the  pronominal 
ace.  as  a  reflexive  (unless,  as  in  Jer.  7^^,  it  is  emphatic)  are  unreal ; 
Dt.  34^  inx  nap'i  "and  he  (Moses)  buried  himself,"  is  an  interpretation 
embodying  a  ridiculous  Rabbinic  opinion,  and  in  Lev.  22^®  the  subj.  and 
obj.  of  iN'^cn  can  and  should  be  regarded  as  referring  to  different  persons. 
Konig(iii.  324^)  treats  in.S"  as  resuming  the  preceding  ni:  ("  Naziriteship  "), 
but  in  a  different  sense — ' '  he  shall  bring  it,  viz.  his  hair. "  Di.  suspects  that 
the  words  '"■•  h  .  ,  ,  3'ipmof  v.^*are  an  insertion,  and  that,  subsequently,  in.v 
(pointing  forward  to  'ui  ca^  of  v.^'')  was  placed  as  an  obj.  to  N'3%  which, 
by  the  former  insertion,  had  been  deprived  of  its  original  obj,  ('i3i  ^33). — 
1$.  in:B'-jD]  so,  in  defining  the  age  of  a  sacrificial  victim,  7^^  15^,  Lev.  12® ; 
with  this  alternates  r\yj-]2  Ex.  12^,  Lev.  9*.  Konig,  iii.  p.  293  n.,  discusses 
the  syntax  of  the  present  phrase. — nns  d'DH  .  .  .  W22\  a  rare  position  for  the 
numeral  nriN,  but  cp.  i  S.  6'' ;  in  S  and  in  the  remaining  two  instances 
of  its  use  in  this  verse,  it  occupies  its  usual  position  immediately  after 
the  substantive ;  Konig,  iii.  334?. — 19.  Th<2i  ynin]  either  vhaj.  is  ace.  of 
condition  =  "  the  shoulder  being  boiled"  (Dav.  32,  R.  2),  or,  as  very 
exceptionally  in  OT.,   the  indef.   adj.   qualifies  a  def.   noun  (Konig,   iii. 

21.  The  subscription  to  the  law.  —  This  is  the  law  of  the 
Nazirite  who  takes  a  vow — to  wit,  his  offering  to  Yahwch  in 
accordance  with  his  Naziriteship  apart  from  what  (or,  any- 
thing further    which)  his  means  enable   him  (to  ofl"er).     The 


VI.  19-21  yi 

construction  is  awkward  ;  but  the  view  of  it  underlying-  this 
translation  is  preferable  to  ffir  V — "this  is  the  law  of  the 
Nazirite  who  vows  his  offering-."  In  either  case  the  subscrip- 
tion confirms  the  conclusion  that  the  sacrifices  formed  the 
main  element  in  Naziriteship  as  understood  by  the  law  and 
illustrated  by  later  practice. — The  point  of  the  subscription 
appears  to  be  this :  the  sacrifices  provided  in  the  law  are  a 
miniinum ;  if  a  man's  means  admit,  he  may  offer  more,  but 
under  no  conditions  less.  And  if  at  the  commencement  of 
his  vow  he  vows  larger  offerings  than  the  law  demands, 
then  he  must  discharge  them.  If,  for  instance,  a  Nazirite 
in  taking  a  vow  says,  "  Lo,  I  am  a  Nazirite  on  condition  of 
offering  a  hundred  burnt-offerings  and  a  hundred  peace- 
offerings  when  I  shave,"  then  he  must  offer  accordingly 
[Siphre).     For  the  phrase  11^  yC'D,  cp.  Ezek.  46'^,  Lev.   14^^ 

21-27.  The  priestly  blessing  gives  terse  and  beautiful 
expression  to  the  thought  that  Israel  owes  all  to  Yahweh, 
who  shields  His  people  from  all  harm,  and  grants  them  all 
things  necessary  for  their  welfare. 

Each  of  the  three  unequal  lines  of  the  blessing  consists 
of  a  longer,  followed  by  a  shorter  hemistich. 

It  would  have  been  more  in  accordance  with  P's  general 
method  if  the  blessing  had  been  introduced  in  connection 
with  the  first  occasion  on  which  Aaron  solemnly  blessed 
the  people  (Lev.  9^-) ;  possibly  it  once  stood  there,  for  we 
cannot  be  sure  that  its  present  is  its  original  position ;  see 
above,  p.  39. 

The  blessing  is  introduced  by  a  formula  characteristic  of 
p  ^y  21. 22a^  cp.  5*  n.).  But  while  it  formed  part  of  P,  there 
neither  has  been  nor  can  be  much  doubt  felt  that  it  was  not 
composed  by  P,  and  that  it  is,  consequently,  of  earlier  origin 
than  the  date  of  its  incorporation  in  P.  The  linguistic  aflSni- 
ties  (and,  indeed,  the  general  tenor  and  feeling)  of  the 
blessing,  while  they  decisively  distinguish  it  from  P,  relate 
it  to  the  Psalms,  It  appears  to  have  influenced  Ps.  67 
directly,  possibly  also  Ps.  ^,  though  this  is  far  more  doubt- 
ful. It  is  probable,  then,  that  the  blessing  is  pre-exilic  in 
origin — a  citation  from  an  early  Psalm,  as  Addis  suggests,  or, 


72  NUMBERS 

more   probably,    a   blessing   actually  used  in    the  temple   at 
Jerusalem  before  the  Exile. 

A  liturg-ical  poem,  such  as  the  blessing-  is,  in  which  the  whole  people  is 
addressed  in  the  2nd  pers.  sing.,  would  have  been  a  natural  product  of  the 
period  of  the  Josianic  Reformation.  The  centralisation  of  worship  must 
have  streng-thened  the  sense  of  the  religious  unity  of  the  people  as  well 
as  that  of  the  unity  of  Yahweh.  The  blessing  may,  of  course,  be  con- 
siderably earlier  ;  but  the  positive  reasons  adduced  for  holding-  it  to  be 
such  are  not  cogent.  Ewald  (History,  Eng.  tr.  ii.  21)  referred  it  to  the 
Mosaic  period  on  account  of  its  antique  simplicity ;  Del.  {Zeitschr.  fiir 
kirchltche  Wissenschaft  u.  kirchliches  Leben,  1882,  pp.  1 13-136)  to  the  pre- 
Davidic  period  on  account  of  its  influence  on  the  Psalms.  See  also  Konig, 
Einleitung,  p.  186. 

Of  the  later  use  of  the  blessing  (cp.  Ecclus.  ^d^^),  the 
Mishnah  gives  a  good  deal  of  information :  it  was  used  in  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem  every  morning  in  connection  with  the 
daily  sacrifices ;  the  sacred  name  was  pronounced,  and  not 
replaced  by  Adonai.  It  was  also  regularly  used  in  the  syna- 
gogues ;  in  these  it  was  not  limited  to  the  morning  service, 
but  a  substitute  for  the  sacred  name  was  used.  For  these 
and  a  number  of  other  details,  see  Tamid  vii.  2  (  =  Sotah  vii.  6), 
Wagenseil  in  Surenhusius'  Mishnah,  iii.  264 ;  Hamburger, 
Realencyclopddiey  li.  hhth.  (art.  "  Priestersegen  ") ;  Herzfeld, 
Gesch.  des  Volkes  Israel,  ii.  108  f.,  162  f.;  Schiirer,  GJV^. 
ii.  457  f.  (Eng.  tr.  11.  ii.  82  f.). 

23.  In  limiting  the  prerogative  of  blessing  to  the  "sons  of 
Aaron"  [i.e.  the  priests),  the  present  law,  which  governed 
post-exilic  practice,  differs  from  Dt.  10^  21^,  which  made  it 
the  prerogative  of  the  whole  tribe  of  Levi.  Still  earlier  we 
hear  of  the  king  blessing  the  people  in  the  name  of  Yahweh, 
2  S.  6^^. — 24-26.  The  blessing  may  be  rendered — 

Yahweh  bless  thee  and  guard  thee  : 

Yahweh  cause  His  face  to 

shine  upon  thee,  and  show  thee  favour: 

Yahweh  lift   up   His   face 

towards  thee,  and  appoint  thee  welfare. 

24.  Yahweh  bless  Ihee]  by  granting  fruitful  harvests,  in- 
crease of  cattle,  and  success  in  all  undertakings :  cp.  Dt. 
28-"^*. — And  gTiard  Ihee]  the  same  wish  expressed  negatively 


VI.  23-26  yz 

Yahweh   guard   thee   from  everything-,    such   as  drought   or 
hostile  invasion,  which  would  prevent  the  blessing. 

Some  of  the  Rabbinic  interpretations  collected  in  Siphre  are  interesting 
— "  Yahweh  bless  thee  with  possessions  and  preserve  thee  in  possessions. 
R.  Nathan  said  :  Yahweh  bless  thee  with  possessions  and  guard  thee  in 
body  (bodily  health).  R.  Isaac  said :  Yahweh  guard  thee  from  the  evil 
nature  (yin  in') :  cp.  Pr.  3-''.  Another  interpretation :  Yahweh  guard 
thee,  so  that  others  may  not  rule  over  thee  :  cp.  Ps.  121®-*'  *'^*'  ***." 

25.  Yahweh  cause  His  face  to  shine  upon  thee\  Ps.  3117(10)^ 
Dan.  9"  (^y) ;  Ps.  8o*-  8-  20 (3. 7.  lo)  (^bs.) ;  i  iq^ss  (3) ;  672  W  (13J1X) ; 
cp.  Ps.  4^(6)  44*  (3)  8916(15)^  and,  if  the  text  be  correct,  ct.  Ps.  go^. 
The  light  or  brightness  of  the  face  is  the  sign  of  in  ward  pleasure, 
and,  when  turned  towards  or  upon  any  one,  of  a  favourable 
disposition  to  him ;  two  men  reporting  to  R.  Johanan  that  R. 
Abbahu  had  found  treasure,  and  asked  why  they  said  so,  re- 
plied, "  Because  his  face  shines."  *  In  Pr.  16^^*  **  the  light  of 
the  king's  countenance"  is  parallel  to  "his  favour,"  v.^^^,  and 
antithetical  to  "wrath,"  v.^^*.  Cp.  also  Pr.  15^0,  Job  2921 
(Duhm,  "the  light  of  my  countenance  comforted  the  mourn- 
ers"), Ecclus.  72^,  and  the  use  of  373  (  =  ,^L).     Perhaps  this 

metaphor  for  human  favour  was  only  used  of  Yahweh  after 
men  had  ceased  to  believe  in  the  possibility,  dangerous  and 
generally  fatal  as  it  was,  of  man's  seeing  the  actual  face  of 
God  (Ex.  3320  etc.).  With  Ex.  3429^-  (P)— the  effect  of  the  fiery 
glory  of  Yahweh  on  Moses'  face — the  expression  has  no  con- 
nection.— And  favour  thee]  pn,  frequent  in  the  Psalms,  never 
occurs  in  P. — 26.  Lift  up  His  face  towards  thee]  the  exact 
phrase  does  not  occur  again  with  a  divine  subject,  and  with 
a  human  subject  it  is  used  in  somewhat  different  senses 
(2  S.  222,  Job  2226;  2  K.  9^2j^  The  nearest  parallels  are  Ps. 
^7(6)23182^16(15).  in  Assyrian  the  phrase  "to  lift  up  the  eye 
upon "  is  used  of  God's  favourable  regard  (Del.  Assvr. 
Handworterbuch,  484a).  When  Yahweh  hid  His  face  His 
creatures  were  troubled  (Ps.  30^^''^  1042^  4425  (24)^.  ^hen  He 
turned  it  towards  them  their  welfare  was  secure. —  Welfare] 
such  rather  than  peace  is  the  meaning  of  Q1?k>'  here :  it  is  free- 
dom from  all  disaster;  cp.  Job  21^,  Lev.  26^.  Some  Jewish 
*  Pesikla  of  Rab  Kahana,  38^  (cited  by  Del.). 


74  NUMBERS 

interpreters  took  the  clause  to  be  a  prayer  for  the  establishment 
of  the  Messianic  king-dom  (Is.  9^^''^),  and  the  light  of  Yahweh's 
face  (v.25)  to  refer  to  the  Shechinah ;  so  QL°  SiphrS.—2'7.  The 
solemn  thrice-repeated  pronunciation  of  the  divine  name  in 
the  blessing-  secures  the  presence  and  favour  of  Yahweh  ;  on 
the  sense  that  ling-ers  here  of  the  power  of  the  duly  pronounced 
name,  see  Fr.  Giesebrecht,  Die  alttestamentliche  Schdtzung 
des  Gottes-namens  (1901). 

23.  iidn]  The  infin.  abs,  has  an  adverbial  (G.-K.  113^),  or  imperative 
{ib.  w^bh)  force.  Some  emend;  Haupt  proposes  'lax,  others  tdn'?  ;  but 
nDN^  followed  by  V  and  a  pronominal  suffix  or  noun  would  be  quite  unusual 

On  the  accentuation  of  the  blessing,  see  Del.  {pp.  cit.  p.  72),  p.  133. 

VII.  The  offerings  of  the  princes. — On  the  day  of  the 
completion  of  the  tabernacle  and  the  anointing  of  the  altar 
^yi.  10. 84. 88^^  Ig^  Qn  the  first  day  of  the  first  month  of  the 
second  year  of  the  Exodus  (Ex.  40^- 1'^*  i'',  cp.  Lev.  8^°^-),  the 
princes  (i^"-"^),  mentioned  in  the  same  order  as  in  c.  2,  make 
each  a  sacred  offering  (P"lp)  of  precisely  the  same  amount,  and 
consisting  of  (i)  u'agons  and  oxen,  v.^,  which  are  given  to 
the  Gershonites  and  Merarites  for  use .  in  connection  with  the 
tabernacle,  v.^^;  and  (2)  a  quantity  of  sacrificial  material 
in  gold  or  silver  vessels,  and  a  number  of  sacrificial 
animals.  It  is  directed  that  the  sacrificial  gifts  shall  be 
formally  presented  by  the  several  princes  on  successive  days, 
v.^^.  This  is  done,  v.^^"^,  and  the  total  amount  offered 
recorded,  v.^*"^. 

Thus  the  date  Is  a  month  previous  to  1^,  but  the  narrative  of  1-4  {i.e. 
ot  the  month  following'  the  erection  of  the  temple)  is  presupposed.  This 
is  best  explained  by  referring  the  chapter  to  P^ ;  so  We.  Kue.  It  is,  of 
course,  not  impossible  that  P?  had  some  account  of  an  offei-ing  made  by 
the  princes  ;  only  then,  as  Di.  points  out,  the  editor  has  not  only  removed 
the  narrative  from  its  proper  position  after  Ex.  40  or  Lev.  8-10,  but  has 
also  recast  the  original  by  adapting  it  to  c.  1-4.  For  the  wearisome 
repetitions  in  v. ^2"^,  cp.  i^"'^.     Linguistically  note  'c  •n'B':  v.^  riDjn  v.^". 

The  writer  desires  "to  introduce  the  heads  of  the  tribes 
...  as  models  of  liberality  towards  the  sanctuary,  which  his 
own  contemporaries  would  do  well  to  copy"  (Kue.  Hex.  94). 

1.   The  day  that  Moses  completed  the  setting-up    (D''pn?)   of 


vi.  27-vii.  8  75 

the  tabernacle]  cp.  Ex.  40^''^- — "And  in  the  first  month  in  the 
second  year  on  the  first  day  of  the  month  the  tabernacle 
was  set  up  (Dpin),  and  Moses  set  up  (□p''l)  the  tabernacle,"  etc. 
The  identity  of  the  terms  used  here  and  in  Ex.  is  obscured  in 
RV.  Occasionally  DV  in  the  sing-.  (BDB.  s.v.  6)  is  used  in 
the  more  indefinite  sense  of  "  time,"  as,  e.g.,  in  "the  day  of 
harvest "  (Pr.  25^^).  But  in  view  of  Ex.  40^-  ^^  this  meaning- 
cannot  satisfactorily  be  given  to  it  here  in  spite  of  v.^*. — And 
anointed  it  and  sanctified  it]  Ex.  3o-'5-29  ^q9-ii^  l^^^  8^*^^-.  On  the 
anointing  of  lifeless  objects  with  a  view  to  their  consecration  as 
a  mark  of  P%  cp.  We.  Comp.  p.  145. — 2.  The  princes  of  Israel] 
(^XTJ""  \S''C'J),  "Prince"  (X^L"J)  is  P's  equivalent  for  "elder"  or 
"prince"  or  "captain"  (nti')  of  JE  D:  cp.  CH.  13 1^  The 
particular  phrase  "princes  of  Israel,"  used  in  a  vaguer  sense 
by  Ezekiel  (21^''  22^  45^),  is  in  the  Pentateuch  used  only 
of  the  twelve  persons  named  in  i^"^^.  The  four  passages 
^j4-t  ^^46  ^2.84^  where  it  is  found  all  seem  to  belong  to  P^  Ps 
prefers  another  phrase,  viz.  "princes  of  the  congregation" 
\r\^v{r\)  \s^D':),  Ex.  16-2  (cp.  3431),  Nu.  43-t  16^  3113  332,  jos. 
gi5.  IS  22^0:  cp.  Driver,  L.O.T.  132  f.  (Nos.  32,  38).— 7%e 
heads  of  their  fathers'  houses]  Ex.  6^*  (P),  i  Ch.  5^*  7O, 
cp.  Nu.  i^- ■*  n. — 3.  This  v.  completes  the  sense  of  v.^;  in 
V.2  the  verb  (nnp'")  "offered"  was  left  without  an  object;  in 
V.2  the  object,  cognate  to  the  verb  of  v. 2,  is  introduced  after  a 
"n^w  verb — "  And  they  brought  their  off'ering  (Djaip)  " ;  the  last 
clause  of  v.^  repeats  the  verb  of  v.^  and  the  sense  of  v.^^. — 
Before  Yahweh]  cp.  5^^  n.  —  Wagons]  the  precise  sense  of 
the  word  rendered  in  RV.  "covered"  is  uncertain:  see  phil. 
note. 

4-9.  Moses  assigns  two  of  the  six  wagons  and  four  of 
the  twelve  oxen,  presented  by  the  princes,  to  the.Gershonites, 
the  rest  to  the  Merarites,  for  use  in  the  transport  of  the 
things  intrusted  to  them  [a^^-^^).  The  Kohathites  receive 
none,  for  they  must  carry  the  "holy  things"  given  into  their 
care  on  their  shoulders.  C.  4  does  not  contemplate  this  dis- 
tinction;  cp.  We.  Comp.  181.  Earlier  writers  saw  nothing 
amiss  in  the  ark  being  placed  on  a  cart  (2  S.  6^). — 8.  By  the 
hand  of  Itha?nar]  as  the  chief  overseer  of  the  Gershonites  and 


76  NUMBERS 

Merarites  (428-33). — 9.  Holy  things\  K'lp  Is  wrongly  rendered  in 
RV.  "  sanctuary  "  ;  see  3^^  and  op.  4^^  lo^^  n. 

2.  'CNi]  (K  prefixes  the  numeral  12. — 3.  3i-  nV^y]  but  v.^''-  ^-  *  rhv}  and  n'jjyn 
undefined  by  3S.  If  3i  be  the  same  word  as  D'3S  (Is.  66^"),  the  singf.  after 
pi.  rhvi  is  peculiar.  The  word  is  probably  a  gloss.  The  meaning-  is  un- 
certain ;  neither  here  nor  in  Is.  does  the  context  require  "covered,"  nor 
does  the  etymology  support  such  a  meaning,  nor  the  use  of  gumhu  in 
Assyr. :  (umbu  is  the  draught  wagon  as  distinguished  from  the  narkabbi 
or  war  chariot  (Del.  Assyr.  Worterbuch,  558).  ffi  {\afnr7)VLKa.s),  Aq. 
( (faracTKeTrao-rds),  "S  {tecta)  and  ST*^  (["sno)  give  to  3S  the  sense  of  covered; 
cp.  G,  Aq.,  Theod.  in  Isaiah,  S  (^  1  oAlO)  and  S:-'"  (puo)  render  by 
w«c^^  ready ;  2rJ°"  (ppaDi  jsnD)  gives  both  meanings.  Symm.  (v7roi;p7tds) 
may  have  read  K3S  and  understood  the  phrase  to  mean  a  "wagon  for 
(tiiili(ary)  service.  Symm.  and  "S  in  Is.  render  by  liiier. — 5.  cnND]  BDB. 
866.— c'n]  Dav.  11,  R.  d. 

10  f. — The  oiFerin^  of  sacrificial  material. — ^This  Is  pre- 
sented by  all  the  princes  on  the  same  day  as  the  wagons 
and  oxen,  v.^"  (cp.  v.^^) ;  after  the  presentation,  v.^^,  Yahweh 
commands  that  each  prince  shall  offer  on  a  separate  day, 
i.e,  that  the  present  of  each  prince  shall  be  offered  afresh 
and  formally  received  on  a  separate  day.  This  appears  to 
be  the  meaning  of  the  verses,  but  It  is  badly  expressed,  for 
the  terms  of  the  two  verses  are  the  same.  Is  the  view  that 
the  offerings  were  made  on  separate  days  (v.^^"^^)  an  in- 
trusion? 

The  paragraph  division  of  RV.  would  be  improved  if  v.^*^ 
began  a  new  paragraph ;  the  account  of  the  first  gift  closes 
at  v.^,  the  account  of  the  second  begins  with  v.^**. 

The  Dedication-gift\  '"l^^ll  has  the  same  sense  in  v.^'*-  ^^ 
and,  perhaps,  In  v.^^,  though  there  it  may  mean  "dedication." 
Though  the  root  is  ancient,  the  noun  in  Heb.  is  confined 
to  late  writers,  the  Chronicler,  and  an  editor  of  the  Psalms 
(30^).  For  sacrifices  at  dedications,  cp.  i  K.  S''-^-  (cp.  2  Ch. 
y''),  Neh.  \2^'^~^^^  i  Mac.  4^^^-.  The  gift  consists  of  materials 
for  each  of  the  main  types  of  sacrificial  offerings — the  meal- 
offering,  the  burnt-offering,  the  sin-offering,  and  the  peace- 
offering. — In  the  day  that  it  was  anointed]  Ex.  40^**  (cp.  v.^) ; 
see  above  on  v.^. — 13.  Dish]  {ni]!p)  RV.  "charger";  see  Ex. 
2^^.— Bowl]  (p-iTo),  Ex.  273.— 14.  Saucer]  ^:i;  RV  "spoon," 
Ex.  25^. — The  shekel  of  the  sanctzmry]  Ex.  30^'. 


VII.  9-VIII.  1-4  77 

10.  naicn  najn  n.v]  G  efs  rbv  ^yKaivia-fiSv, — a  paraphrase  rather  than  a 
variant  {  =  'Dn':n7):  ct.  v.**-^^. — ma  na-nn  avi]  Dav.  79,  81,  R.  3.— 12-83. 
The  only  variations  from  the  otherwise  constant  formula  of  the  following; 
twelve  sections  are — (i)  In  the  initial  vv.  of  the  first  two  sections:  ct.' 
V.1--  IS  with  v.^-  ^  etc.  (2)  In  the  second  v.  of  the  first  two  sections  we  have 
^22lp^  v.^3,  i:anp  riN  yipn  v.'*;  in  all  the  remaining  sections  iJ2ip  v.^- ^^  etc, 
S  reads  wmp  simply  in  v.^^-  '^  also,  (ffi  assimilates  v.^^-  ^^.  (3)  The  lack  of 
special  forms  for  the  ordinals  above  ten  necessitated  a  slight  change  in 
the  reference  to  the  nth  and  12th  days,  v.^*-'*. — 13.  nxDi  D'a'ba]  Dav.  37, 
R.  4.-24.  t^i3T  ':n'7  n'B'j]  the  reason  for  using  ^  as  a  periphrasis  of  the 
gen.  here  and  in  subsequent  and  corresponding  vv.  is  not  clear :  ct.  v.^®. 
See  Konig,  iii.  28o;«.— 72.  DV  icv  Tis^j;  DV3]  Dav.  38  (2).— 86.  vipn  .  .  .  mcyj,-] 
C'-  omit.— 87.  cnn:oi]  ffi  +  cn'spr:  cp.  6^^ .  but  here  the  addition  is  clearly 
wrong. — 88.  nnicn]  ffir  +  I'T  ^^O  nnx  {/neTo.  rb  w\ripZa-ai  tol's  xf 'pa?  airov) :  cp 
Ezek.  43-*.     The  translators  must  have  had  the  Heb.  phrase  before  them. 

89.  An  isolated  fragment  of  a  narrative  which  recorded 
the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  made  in  Ex.  25-2. —  With  Hini\ 
presupposes  an  immediately  preceding-  mention  of  Yahweh. 
— And  He  spake  to  hivi\  The  subject  is  Yahweh.  In  its  original 
context  the  words  doubtless  introduced  a  divine  speech.  On 
the  subject-matter  of  the  v.,  cp.  i^  (2nd  n.). 

IS']?]  Hithp.  part.;  G.-K.  54c.  The  same  form  occurs  in  2  S.  14",  Ezek. 
2^  43^ :  otherwise  the  Hithp.  of  n3T  is  not  found.  Perhaps  we  should 
punctuate  131D,  the  present  punctuation  merely  representing  some  false 
exegesis  such  as  that  of  Rashi,  who  explains  v'?n  ^3^D  as  meaning  "iino 
i2sy  pa'?  13'3,  i.e.  speaking  with  himself. 

The  versions  make  different  efforts  to  get  over  the  difficulty  presented 
by  this  V.  when  its  fragmentary  character  is  not  recognised.  5J  goes 
furthest — Cumque  ingrederetur  Moyses  tabernaculum  foederis,  ut  consu- 
leret  oraculiim,  audiebat  vocem  loquentis  ad  se  de  propitiatorio  quod  erat 
super  arcam  testimonii  inter  duos  Cherubim  :  unde  et  loquebatur  ei.  The 
attempt  to  make  the  last  clause  express  the  constantly  recurring  practice, 
which  would,  of  course,  require  in  the  Hebrew  the  simple  imperfect,  is 
perhaps  also  the  cause  of  the  renderings  of  (S  {koX  iXdXei)  and  2C  (^^Dnoi). 
S  inserts  1  before  hlio  and  substitutes  nn  for  laTl,  and  so  reads,  "And 
from  the  mercy-seat  .  .  .  He  spake  to  him." 

VIII.  1-4.  The  golden  candlestick.  —  The  verses  contain 
nothing  new  in  substance.  Thus  v.^-^''  is  a  formula  (cp. 
5*^  n.) ;  2^  =  Ex.  25^*^ ;  v.^  the  execution  of  the  command  of  v.^^ 
(not  recorded  in  Ex.  sy^^"^*) ;  ^^  =  Ex.  2581 ;  4b^  cp.  Ex.  25^-  *o. 

The  person  to  whose  care  the  lamps  are  intrusted  is  un- 
defined in  Ex.  2537  (|ij),  is  Moses  in  Ex.  2^^'^  (S  (K),  but,  as 
here,  Aaron  in  Ex.  27-^,  Lev.  24^"*. 

In  view  of  the  character  of  the  section  it  seems  preferable 


78  NUMBERS 

with  Kue.  and  CH.  to  refer  it  entirely,  rather  than  with  Dl 
(cp.  Paterson,  SBOT.)  only  in  part  (v.*),  to  P'. 

TVhen  thou  settest  tip  the  lamps]  so  RV.  marg.  rightly  ; 
ihv^  means  tojix  on,  not  to  light  (RV.)  a  lamp. 

2.  muDn  'J3  ^10  ht(\  the  sense  is  probably  the  same  as  that  of  the 
parallel  expression  (.T33  nay  hu)  in  Ex.  25^ — "on  the  space  in  front'of  the 
candlestick  "  ;  in  other  words,  on  the  N.  side  of  the  outer  chamber  along 
which  the  table  of  shewbread  was  placed  (Ex.  26^^).  The  phrase  'JS  ^1D  hn 
occurs  elsewhere  in  \  Ex.  28=5.37^  3^^  l^^.  8^*  (all  P),  2  S.  iii^t.— 3.  *?« 
miran  'js  ^id]  ?  dittographic  from  v.^ ;  as  an  interpretation  of  the  text  RV. 
is  doubtful. — 5.  31719]  rather  n'g-jg  :  so  G  S  :  cp.  Ex.  25'^ 

VIII.  5-22.  The  purification  and  presentation  of  the  Levites 
to  Yahweh. — A  parallel  narrative  to  3^"^^.  All  that  is  new  in 
substance  is  contained  in  v.^^"^^,  and  consists  of  a  command 
to  purify  the  Levites,  and  of  directions  for  their  purification 
and  solemn  presentation  to  Yahweh.  The  rest  (v.^-  ^*- 1^22^ 
consists  of  variants  on  parts  of  v.^^-^^,  a  resetting  of  3'^"^^, 
and  stereotyped  formulas  (see  notes  below  for  details). 

The  section  contains  curious  repetitions  ;  e.g.  the  command 
to  purify  the  Levites  is  given  twice,  v.^-  ■'^,  and  Aaron  is  once, 
v.^^,  Moses  twice,  v.^^-  ^^,  commanded  to  *'  wave"  the  Levites. 

It  appears  probable  that  an  original  narrative  by  P*  of  the 
solemn  institution  of  the  Levites,  designed  as  a  parallel  to  the 
consecration  of  the  priests  (Lev.  8),  has  been  subsequently 
expanded,  partly  by  attempts  to  emphasise  the  activity  of 
Aaron  and  partly  by  assimilation  to  3^"^^. 

So,  substantially,  We.  (comp.  180  f.),  Kue.,  Baudissin  {Prlesterthurtty 
44  f.),  CH.  Others  (Di.,  Str.),  though  admitting  that  the  passage  has  been 
expanded,  consider  the  cleansing  and  formal  presentation  of  the  Levites 
to  belong  to  P».  The  case  is  well  stated  by  Kue.  "  Nu.  viii.  5-22  .  .  . 
is  an  insipid  repetition  and  exaggeration  of  the  account  of  the  separation 
of  the  Levites  for  the  service  of  the  sanctuary  in  Nu.  iii.  and  iv.  If  the 
author  of  these  last-named  chapters  had  supposed  that  the  Levites,  before 
entering  on  their  duties,  had  to  be  purified,  and  presented  to  Yahw^  by 
n3i3n,  like  a  sacrifice,  he  would  not  have  passed  it  over  in  silence  ;  for  he 
represents  them  in  iii.  and  iv.  as  already  intrusted  with  the  task  which  in 
that  case  they  would  only  have  become  qualified  to  undertake  in  viii.  5-22. 
This  pericope,  then,  must  be  a  later  addition,  as  we  might  have  supposed 
from  its  setting,  viii.  1-4,  23-26.  Its  author  observed  that  a  formal  con- 
secration of  the  Levites,  analogous  to  that  of  the  priests  (Lev.  viii.),  was 
not  recorded,  though  it  seemed  to  be  neither  unsuitable  nor  superfluous. 
This  defect  he  supplied  "  (Hexateuch,  §  6  n.  2)'^. 


Vill.  5-7  79 

6a.  Cp.  312a.  45^ — And  cleanse  theiit\tt\Qke  them  ceremonially 
clean.  The  priests  are  sanctified  (Ex.  28*^  Lev.  S^*^^-),  the 
Levites  merely  cleansed. — 7.  And  thus  shalt  thou  do  unto  them 
in  cleansing  them]  (Dnncf))  cp.  Ex.  29^  (of  the  priests),  "And 
this  is  the  thing"  which  thou  shalt  do  unto  them  in  sanctifying- 
them  "  (onx  ^'ip'?).  Corresponding  to  this  g-eneral  difference, 
that  the  dedication  of  the  Levites  involved  only  the  negative 
process  of  purification  from  ceremonial  uncleanness,  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  priests,  in  addition,  the  positive  process  of 
receiving  the  qualities  of  holiness,  is  the  absence  from  the 
present  ceremonial  of  the  sprinklingf  with  blood  and  the  anoint- 
ing- with  oil,  which  play  so  significant  a  part  in  the  dedication 
of  the  priests,  Lev.  8^2. 23f..  ^p.  Weinel  in  ZATJV.  1898,  pp. 
35  f.,  62  f. —  Water  0/ siti]  (nstsn  ^d)  i.e.  water  for  the  removal 
of  sin ;  so  rn2{r\)  id  =  **  water  of  impurity,"  19^ ;  for  analogous 
uses  of  the  construct  and  genitive  (Dav.  23).  The  term  is  used 
nowhere  else,  and  there  is,  therefore,  no  means  of  determining^ 
with  certainty  whether  it  denotes  water  specially  treated,  as 
the  analogy  of  "the  water  of  impurity"  or  the  "waters  of 
bitterness  "  (s^'^'")  or  the  water  used  in  the  cleansing  of  lepers 
(Lev.  14^'^)  would  suggest,  or  simply  clean  water,  which  might 
also  be  used  as  a  means  of  cleansing  from  sin  (Ezek.  36-',  cp. 
Zech.  13^).  The  priests  are  entirely  washed,  not  merely 
sprinked,  with  (simple)  water  (Lev.  8^). — And  let  them  (the 
Levites)  cause  a  razor  to  pass  over  their  whole  Jlesh]  i.e.  all  the 
hair,  not  only  of  the  head  but  of  the  whole  body,  is  to  be  cut. 
Close  shaving,  which  the  English  expression  suggests,  is 
scarcely  intended  ;  cp.  6^  note.  Close  shaving  (nyti'  ^D  DX  n7J"i) 
entered  into  the  purification  of  lepers  (Lev.  14^^),  and  of 
Nazirites  who  had  contracted  uncleanness  from  the  dead  (6^) : 
cp.  also  Dt.  21^2.  Compare  the  practice  of  the  Egj'ptians. 
"The  priests  shave  themselves  all  over  their  body  every  other 
day,  so  that  no  lice  or  any  other  foul  thing  may  come  to  be  upon 
them  when  they  minister  to  the  gods  "  (Herod,  ii.  37) ;  and 
see,  further,  on  6^. — And  let  thein  wash  their  clothes]  another 
point  of  inferiority  as  compared  with  the  priests,  who  are  clad 
with  entirely  new  and  different  clothes  (Lev.  8^^) :  cp.  with  the 
present,  once  again  the  rite  of  the  purification  of  lepers  (Lev. 


So  NUMBERS 

j^sf.j^ — 3  'Yhe  ofTering-s  to  be  made  by  the  Levites  are  a  burnt- 
offering'  (cp.  v.^^),  consisting  of  a  young  bullock  (Lev.  4^),  with 
the  appropriate  meal-offering  (15^),  and  a  sin-offering  consist- 
ing of  a  second  young  bullock. — They  shall  take  .  ..  .  thou 
shall  take\  the  reason  for  the  change  of  subject,  possibly  the 
result  of  textual  accident,  is  not  clear :  cp.  v.^-^  for  the  2nd 
p. — 10.  Before  Yahiveh\  cp.  5^^  n.  —  10b.  The  people  lay  their 
hands  on  the  Levites  to  indicate  that  it  is  they  who  offer  them 
to  Yahweh :  for  the  rite  of  laying  on  hands,  see  Lev.  i*. — 
Children  of  Israel]  To  explain  this  as  meaning  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people  (i^*^)  or  the  heads  of  their  tribes*  is  quite 
gratuitous.  Had  the  writer  clearly  thought  out  the  ceremony, 
and  intended  the  one  or  the  other,  he  would  no  doubt  have  ex- 
pressed it  intelligibly.  The  same  remark  may  hold  good  with 
regard  to  the  next  rite — the  waving  of  the  Levites.  Either  the 
practical  difficulty  that  a  large  body  of  over  20,000  men  could 
not,  like  loaves  of  bread  (Lev.  23^'')  or  a  sheaf  of  corn  (Lev. 
23^^)  or  a  piece  of  a  sacrificial  animal  (Lev.  7^2-34^  jsj^^  520^^ 
be  moved  or  waved  to  and  fro  before  the  altar,  never  occurred 
to  the  writer,  and  he  has  introduced  the  act  of  waving  (nsijn), 
without  thinking  how  it  could  have  been  actually  performed, 
because  it  suitably  symbolises  a  gift  to  Yahweh  (6^°  n.) ; 
or  else  the  words  fj^in,  ncijn  have  lost  their  original  meaning 
and  signify  nothing  more  than  "to  make  a  sacred  gift," 
"a  sacred  gift";  cp.  Now.  ii.  239 f. — 11.  Probably  an 
interpolation  to  explain  that  the  "waving"  referred  to  Moses 
in  v.^^-^^  was  actually  performed  by  Aaron.  Di.  further 
suggests  that  y.isb.  14  originally  occupied  the  place  of  v.^^. 
For  the  introduction  of  Aaron,  cp.  1^  n. — 12.  The  Levites 
before  entering  on  their  duties  must  not  only  cleanse  them- 
selves, but  also  offer  atoning  sacrifices ;  the  imposition  of 
hands  is  part  of  the  regular  ritual,  Lev.  1*. — 14.  And  thou  shall 
separate  the  Levites]  as  Israel  is  separated  from  other  peoples 
(Lev.  20^*'),  so  the  Levites  are  separated  from  the  rest  of  Israel, 
lib.  Cp.  3^2*^. — 15a.  After  the  ritual  described  in  the  preceding 
vv.,  the  Levites  are  to  enter  on  their  duties — this  is  the  natural 
close   to  the  narrative.      Another   "cleansing"  and  another 

•  Di.,  Keil. 


VIII.   8-22  01 

**  waving,"  v.^^'',  cannot  have  been  intentionally  introduced  by 
the  original  writer  at  this  point,  but  is  due  to  expansion  of  the 
original  narrative. — 16a.  Cp.  3^. — 16b.  Cp.  3^-^. — 17.  Cp.  3^^. 
—  18.  Cp.  312.— 19a.  Cp.  39=»- 12. 8,  — 19.  The  service  of  the 
children  of  Israel]  the  services  which,  but  for  the  exchange, 
the  firstborn  IsraeHtes  must  have  rendered.  By  discharg- 
ing these  services  the  Levites  make  propitiation  for  tViG  people, 
— secure  or  cover  pS?)  them  against  such  a  plague  (f|J:)  as 
would  be  the  natural  result  of  withholding  from  Yahweh  His 
due  (cp.  Ex.  30^2),  and  so  provoking  His  anger.  By  a  kind 
of  afterthought,  as  it  would  seem,  the  writer  adds  the  words 
zvhen  the  children  of  Israel  approach  the  sanctuary  (cp.  18^'^), 
thus  indicating  that  the  Levites  screen  the  people  not  only 
from  the  anger  which  would  be  evoked  if  the  services  of  the 
firstborn  or  their  substitutes  were  withheld,  but  also,  by 
forming  a  ring  round  the  tabernacle,  from  the  wrath  which  fell 
on  those  who,  without  due  qualification,  drew  near  the  sacred 
edifice  (i^^).  The  word  used  ior  plague  (^33),  which  is  confined 
to  P,  commonly  implies  some  calamity  inflicted  on  people  who 
have  roused  the  anger  of  God  (cp.  17'^^^-,  Ex.  12^^  30^^,  Jos. 
22^''!) ;  and  the  verb  often  has  a  similar  implication  (cp.  e.g. 
Ex.  7^'',  2  S.  12^^). — 20-22.  The  various  directions  carried  out. 
The  allusion  to  Aaron,  at  least  in  v.^^^  is  due  to  modification 
of  the  original :  cp.  v.-"^^  n. — 21.  And  the  Levites  unsinned  them- 
selves] The  Hebrews  included  in  the  idea  of  "  sin  "  ceremonial 
uncleanness,  and  it  is  to  the  removal  of  sin  of  this  kind  that 
the  vb.  XDnnn  refers,  alike  here  and  in  i gi2. 13.  20  ^  i lOf .  23^  gp 
the  Piel  XOn  is  used  in  Lev.  8^^  of  the  removal  of  the  "sin," 
or  ceremonial  uncleanness  of  the  altar. 

7.  iin?':'!]  G.-K.  275^,  54<r.— 14.  o'lSn  (2)]  ffi  om.— 15.  'd  "jnx  nx  n3j;^]  ffi  S 
nj;iD  "rnx  mnj;  hn  ^3V^,  as,  e.g.,  4^"  in  |ij  ;  cp.  v.'^-  "*•  '^. — nsun]  ffi  S  add  ni.T  'ja'? ; 
cp.  v.'^*-^  in  |tj. — 16.  mas]  occurs  nowhere  else  ;  even  in  3'^,  on  which  the 
present  passag-e  is  based,  we  find  n:33.  S  reads  here  also  "ibs.  The  clause 
seems  to  have  suffered  from  some  corruption  ;  in  addition  to  mas,  the  ^"2 
between  ni33  and  ':33  is  suspicious.  The  whole  clause  ^runv  .  .  ,  rnn  is 
read  by  S  thus  :  ^nic  'j::3  om  nas  msa  hj  nnn.— 17.  'niin]  S  'n'3n. — 19.  n:nNi] 
Dr.  Tenses,  690 ;  Konig',  iii.  200a. 

23-26.    The    age    of  Levitical  service.  —  Levites  between 
twenty-five  and  fifty  years  of  age  are  to  undertake  the  respon- 
6 


82  NUMBERS 

sibility  of  the  service  of  the  tabernacle.  When  they  have 
reached  the  age  of  fifty,  their  responsibility  ceases,  though 
they  may  still  render  voluntary  assistance  to  their  fellow- 
Levites  (vnx  v.^s). 

According  to  c.  4  the  age  of  service  was  from  thirty  to 
fifty.     On  the  difference,  see  4^  n. 

There  are  also  certain  stylistic  peculiarities  which  disting-uish  the 
present  section  from  c.  4.  In  c.  4  the  age  of  service  is  indicated  by  means 
of  the  phrase  nac  D'con  p  nj;i  n'?yDi  rue  a^e'he/  pa.  Here  we  have  the  two 
direct  statements :  At  twenty-five  the  Levite  enters  {^1^")  on  service  ;  at 
fifty  he  retires  (31E").  The  particular  combination  T71211:]  N3i- v.-^  lit.  "the 
warfare  of  the  service"  (cp.  4*n.),  occurs  nowhere  else. — In  24  D'l^'?  wx  nxT 
is  unique ;  Paterson  supplies  rmnn  after  nxt ;  but  even  this  fails  to  give 
any  of  the  usual  formulae  ;  see  5^"  n.  "B  S>  are  paraphrases  rather  than 
variants.  The  awkwardness  of  pj  may  betray  a  late  hand,  or  we  might 
supply  nvnn  after  ncx  ;  cp.  Ex.  29^  and  below  v.^^"^  (cp.  Ex.  29"^). 

IX.  1-14.  The  supplementary  passover.  —  The  passover 
having  been  duly  observed  on  the  14th  day  of  the  first  month 
of  the  second  year,  according  to  the  directions  given  at  the 
institution  of  the  festival  in  the  previous  year,  v.^~^,  certain 
men  complain  that  they  had  been  prevented,  through  defile- 
ment by  the  dead,  from  discharging  their  passover  duties, 
v.^'-.  On  inquiry  Moses  receives  this  instruction  from  Yahw^eh, 
v.^* :  all  who  are  prevented,  either  by  defilement  from  the 
dead  or  by  absence  on  a  distant  journey,  from  observing 
the  passover  on  the  right  day,  are  to  observe  it  on  the  14th 
day  of  the  next  month,  v.^°~^^ ;  all  who  fail  to  observe  the 
festival,  except  for  these  reasons,  are  to  be  "cutoff" from  their 
kinsmen,"  v.^*.  The  ^Sr  or  resident  foreigner  (15^^  n.),  as 
well  as  the  Israelite  by  birth,  is  to  keep  the  passover,  v.^*. 

The  supplemental  character  of  the  section,  the  date  (v.^,  cp.  7^,  ct.  i'), 
and  the  lack  of  organic  connection  with  the  context,  are  most  simply  ex- 
plained as  being  due  to  the  secondary  character  of  the  passage  (cf.  Introd. 
§  12).  The  insertion  of  the  passage  here  is  explicable,  for  through  its 
chief  motive  it  is  connected  with  the  middle  of  the  second  month,  and 
should  therefore  stand  between  i^  and  lo-*^.  Had  it,  however,  formed 
part  of  the  original  narrative,  the  main  motive  would,  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose,  have  been  stated  first,  and  dated  in  the  second  month,  and  the 
historical  cause,  v.^"^  would  have  been  introduced  by  means  of  a  plu- 
perfect paragraph. 

Di.'s  view  is  that  the  original  narrative  of  P  contained,  at  this  point,  a 


IX.  1-6  S^ 

short  account  of  the  supplementary  passover  (see  below  on  v.^),  and  that 
this  was  expanded  in  the  final  redaction  into  the  section  as  now  read. 
The  variations  in  dSc  (v.*'^)  and  the  faulty  text  of  v.^  he  considers  to  be  at 
once  the  result  and  the  indications  of  such  a  process.  See  also  We.  Comp. 
ITJ ;  Kue.  Jlex.  §  6  n.  32. 

la.  i^  n. — The  day  of  the  month  is  omitted,  for  it  is  illegiti- 
mate to  interpret  zn  the  first  month  (jlK'Xin  Z"\Pd)  as  meaning 
"at  the  first  new  moon,"  i.e.  on  the  first  day  of  the  month. 
Hebrew  writers,  when  they  wish  to  define  the  first  day,  use 
the  numeral  ins;  so  i^-^^  29^  33^^,  Dt.  i^  Ezek.  31^,  Hag.  i^, 
Ezr.  3^  7^  and  often.  Cp.  Di.  on  Ex.  ig^. — 2.  The  rendering 
of  RV.,  Moreover,  let  the  childt-en  of  Israel  keep,  is  not  a  trans- 
lation of  VuTI,  which  presupposes  some  such  phrase  as  **  com- 
mand the  children  of  Israel  (that  they  keep) " ;  see  phil.  n.  on 
5^.  Either  such  a  phrase  has  dropped  out  (fflt  prefixes  etVot'), 
or  the  tense  was  originally  historical  ('lt^'y?1),  the  present  pro- 
nunciation being  the  result  of  a  redaction  of  the  passage  (see 
above).  Di.  surmises  that  all  that  is  original  in  v.^~^  ran 
as  follows:  "And  the  children  of  Israel  kept  the  passover 
at  its  appointed  time,  on  the  14th  day  of  the  first  (so  (G) 
month  at  evening,  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai :  according  to 
all  that  Yahweh  commanded  Moses,  so  the  children  of  Israel 
did." — 3.  Betiioeen  the  two  evenings\  the  same  peculiar  phrase 
is  \ised  elsewhere  in  connection  with  the  passover  (first  in  Ex. 
12^)  and  in  some  other  connections  (Ex.  16^^  29^^-^^  30^,  Nu. 
28*).  It  is  peculiar  to  P  ;  with  Ex.  12°  ct.  Dt.  16^.  The  exact 
sense  of  the  phrase  is  obscure ;  according  to  the  practice  of 
the  ist  cent.  a.d.  it  was  interpreted  to  mean  the  time  between 
about  three  and  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon:  cp.  Jos.  BJ.  vi.  9^ 
with  Ex.  12^,  and,  further,  Jos.  Ant.  xiv.  4^  and  Pesahhn  5^ 
with  Ex.  29^''.  See,  further,  especially  for  various  Jewish  inter- 
pretations, Gesenius,  Thesaiirus,  p.  1065. — 3b.  The  passover 
is  to  be  kept  in  the  manner  already  established  by  decree  and 
usage:  cp.  Ex.  12.  But  the  author  of  the  present  section 
shows  no  very  vivid  realisation  of  a  passover  in  the  wilderness. 
The  regulation  of  Ex.  12^  could  not  have  been  carried  out  by 
people  dwelling  in  tents. — 5.  And  they  kept  the  passover^  <&  S) 
omit. — At  even]  ffi  omits. — 6.  Partaking  of  the  sacrificial  flesh 


84  NUMBERS 

while  in  a  state  of  uncleanness  is  the  subject  of  an  express  and 
general  prohibition,   Lev.  720^-;  cp.  also  i  S.  21*"*^,  Lev.  22^-^. 
On  uncleanness  by  the  dead,  see  c.    19 ;  on  the  phrase  here 
used  to  express  it,  5^  phil.  n. — And  before  Aaro?i]  probably  an 
insertion.     Aaron  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the  section  ; 
and  the  pronoun  ("to  him ")  in  the  next  verse  disregards  him  : 
cp.  i^  n. — 7.    Why  are  we  withdrawn  from  offering\  the  Hebrew 
word  (y"i33)  is  used  of  withdrawal,  especially  of  a  part  from  the 
whole:  cp.  in  Kal  Ex.  5^,  Dt.  4^;  in  Hiph.  36^  27^,  Lev.  27^^. 
The  question  seems,  therefore,  to  mean   this :  Why  are  we, 
owing  to  accidental  and  temporary  defilement,  to  be  excluded 
from  the  rest  of  Israel  and,  in  the  matter  of  the  great  annual 
festival,  to  be  in  the  position  of  foreigners  who  would  have  no 
part  in  it?     The  men  did  not  need  to  ask  why  they  were  pre- 
vented'^ they  knew  that  the  reason  lay  in  their  uncleanness. 
Their  question  is  virtually  a  petition  for  a  modification  of  the 
law,  which,  on  the  present  occasion,  had  prevented  them. — 
8.  Stand  still\  cp.  the  use  of  noy  in  Jos.  3^^,  Ex.  g^^ ;  but  the 
parallels  are  not  exact,  and  the  present  phrase  is  a  little  abrupt. 
Possibly  riD  or  ns  =  "  here  "    has   dropped  out;    cp.   ffirS. — 
9  ff.  The  law  now  given  provides  not  only  for  the  case  of  un- 
cleanness raised  by  the  incident  just  recorded,  but  also  for  the 
case  of  those  on  distant  journeys.     According  to  the  Mishnah 
{Pes,  9^),  all  who  were  prevented  by  accident  or  compulsion  from 
observing  the  first  were  bound  to  observe  the  second  passover. 
On  the  second  passover,  cp.  Pes.   9  passim,    and    2    Ch.  30 
(Hezekiah's  passover  celebrated  in  the  second  month,  30^^). — 
10.  Of  you  or  of  you7  generations^  i.e.  belonging  to  this  or 
future  generations. — 11.  Three  of  the  chief  regulations  govern- 
ing the  observance  of  the  normal  passover  are  specified  as 
governing  also  this  supplementary  passover;    with  v.^^^  cp. 
Ex.  12^;  v,i2a«^  Ex.  12^'^;  and  v.^2a;3^  £x.  12^.    Then  in  v. ^2b it;  is 
summarily  enjoined  that  the  law  of  the  first  passover  holds  in 
every  respect  also  for  the  second. — 13.  That  soitl  shall  be  cut 
off  from  his  kifismen^  Gn.  17^*  and  often  in  P  (CH.  50).     The 
threat  is  not  made  in  Ex.  12.     On  the  much  debated  question 
whether  this  is  a  threat  of  death  or  excommunication,  Gunkel 
{Genesis,  p.  246)  seems  to  hit  the  mark  :   "  Doubtless  men  like 


IX.  7-iS  85 

P  desired  the  death  of  such  a  sinner  .  .  .  and  when  the 
heathen  government  permitted  it,  certainly  also  inflicted  it ;  in 
Lev.  17^^-  20^-  ®  we  can  read  between  the  lines  that  such  capital 
punishment  of  the  religious  transgressor  was  not  permitted 
by  the  government,  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  rest  content 
with  the  belief  in  the  destruction  of  such  a  sinner  by  God." . 
Note  4^^  and  the  context;  see  also  Kuenen,  Rel.  of  Israel,  ii. 
276  f. — That  7nan  shall  hear  his  ««]  (xt^'"'  IXDH)  i.e.  shall  suffer 
the  consequences  of  his  sin,  undergo  the  punishment  of  it : 
cp.  i82^  Lev.  2o20,— 14.  Ex.  la^^'-;  cp.  i^^^n. 

bj;to3]  S,  here,  and  throug-hout  the  section,  and  in  28^^1^103  :  cp.  (K  Kara. 
Kaipoii,  v.^;  but  otherwise  in  v.^* ''•  ^^ — 6.  '.Ti]  Dav.  1135;  S  v.ti  ;  (S  Kal 
vape-yivovTo ;  the  latter  does  not  necessarily  imply  a  reading  iN'i'i,  cp. 
I  K.  (S.)  2o-*.—±0.  '3  E"N  ly'N]  512  n,— npm  inia]  On  the  epicene  character  of 
^^^,  see  Kon.  iii.  249^.  The  point  over  the  n  of  npm  has  reference  to  the 
Rabbinic  exegesis  which  refers  the  adjective  to  the  subj.  of  the  sentence 
instead  of  to  yn.  Cp.  ffit  here,  SiphrS  on  this  passage,  and  Geiger, 
Urschrift,  185-187. — 12.  np3  nj;]  The  art.  is  omitted  in  the  familiar  ex- 
pression ;  Dav.  22,  R.  3  ;  Kon.  iii.  294^. — li.  i£3-:cD3i]  S  (cp.  S)  vd2E'C3i. 
The  pi.  is  probably  right :  cp.  v.^ — n''7\''\  5^  phil.  n. — miN"?!  nj'pi]  Dav.  136  ; 
Kon.  iii.  376a. 

15-23.  The  fiery  cloud. — The  movements  of  the  Israelites 
from  Sinai  onwards  were  regulated  partly  by  the  action  of  a 
cloud,  partly,  as  before  reaching  Sinai,  by  the  express  com- 
mand of  Yahweh.  This  cloud,  which  at  night  assumed  a  fiery 
appearance,  settled  on  the  tabernacle  on  the  day  of  its  erection  ; 
subsequently  as  often  and  as  long  as  the  cloud  rested  on  the 
tabernacle  the  Israelites  encamped  ;  and  as  often  as  the  cloud 
rose  from  off  the  tabernacle  they  broke  up  the  camp  and 
continued  their  journey. 

The  section,  which  is  unconnected  with  either  the  preceding  or  the 
following,  is  parallel  to  Ex.  4o^'*''-  ^^"^^  and  connected  with  Ex.  4o"'  ^'^  by 
the  date  in  v.^®.  It  would  have  stood  most  naturally  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  narrative  of  the  erection  of  the  tabernacle.  In  its  present  form  it  may 
best  be  referred  to  P= ;  note  the  numerous  omissions  in  (Sr  and  certain 
expressions  not  found  elsewhere  in  Vs,  viz.  ncx  c"  v.^^n.,  '"'  mDK'a  noc  (cp. 
i^*n.),  wa  HN-iDD  v.^'  (cf.  Ezek.  8").  As  relating  the  section  to  P,  note  the 
conception  of  the  cloud  (n.  on  v.'^),  the  connection  of  v.^^  with  Ex.  40, 
also  ni,T  'D  Vy  (CH.  19a),  jdeth  (CH.  54),  nnvn  (CH.  161),  nc'D  ra  (CH.  iSo). 
See,  further,  CH. 

15a.  Cp.  7^  n. — The  cloud  covered]  the  tense  is  historical, 


86  NUMBERS 

recording  the  one  definite  past  event  that  the  cloud  settled  on 
the  tabernacle  when  it  was  first  set  up.  On  the  other  hand, 
all  the  verbs  in  v.^^^"^^^  are  frequentatives^  and  state  what 
repeatedly  happened  subsequently  (Dr.  Tenses^  30).  —  The 
tabernacle,  even  the  tejit  of  the  testimony^  the  tabernacle  (pti'ion) 
was  contained  within  the  tent  (?nx),  cp.  3^^^-  n.,  Ex.  26^  ;  the 
cloud,  therefore,  is  more  accurately  described  as  covering- 
(HDD)  the  tent,  cp.  Ex.  40^*,  Nu.  \'f  (16*2)  j  but  it  is  spoken 
of  indifferently  as  resting-  or  being  on  (7^)  either  the  tent 
(Ex.  40^^)  or  the  tabernacle  (Ex.  40^*^- ^3,  Nu.  10^^).  "Tent 
of  the  testimony"  (nnyn  pnx)  only  occurs  again  in  1722^-  ig^, 
2  Ch.  24^;  "tabernacle  of  the  testimony"  (niiyn  pEJ'D)  is 
found  in  Ex.  3821,  Nu.  iSo.  ssbis  iqU.  q^  it  the  testimony," 
see  17^^  n.  No  satisfactory  reason  can  be  discovered  for  the 
addition  of  the  second  phrase  here,  and  it  may  be,  as 
Paterson  argues,  a  gloss. — 15b.  Cp.  Ex.  40^^.  The  fiery 
appearance  may  have  been  supposed  to  result  from  the  pre- 
sence in  the  tabernacle  of  the  glory  of  Yahweh  (Ex.  40^^^-), 
the  appearance  of  which  was  like  devouring  fire  (Ex.  24^^: 
cp.  34-9-33  and  also  Lev.  g-^^-). — 16.  The  cloud  used  to  cover 
ii\  (!j  S  Fadd  *'  by  day."  18.  At  the  commandment  of  Yahweh\ 
the  cloud,  according  to  P,  first  appeared  at  Sinai  (Ex.  24^^"^^; 
Ex.  16*^"^^  is  a  misplaced  narrative),  and  first  became  a  per- 
manent phenomenon  after  the  erection  of  the  tabernacle. 
Before  reaching  Sinai,  the  Israelites  marched  according  to  the 
commandment  of  Yahweh,  Ex.  17^ ;  such  definite  direction  they 


,22^ 


still  required;  for  the  cloud  in  P  does  not,  as  in  J  (Ex.  13^ 
move  at  the  head  of  the  whole  host  to  show  the  way.  In  P  the 
cloud  is  always  closely  associated  with  the  tabernacle ;  and  the 
tabernacle  formed  the  centre  of  the  host  (2^^^).  It  is  clear,  too, 
from  v.^^''  that  v.^^  is  more  than  another  way  of  stating  v.^^; 
the  commandment  of  Yahweh,  according  to  which  the  Israelites 
marched,  was  not  merely  the  action  of  the  cloud,  for  it  was 
communicated  through  Moses.  For  ^tr?"^  of  directions  orally 
communicated,  cp.  e.g.  13^. — 20.  &  omits  this  v.  and  also 
V.22. — 21  f.  Sometimes  the  cloud  only  remained  over  the  taber- 
nacle from  the  evening  of  one  day  to  the  morning  of  the  next : 
i.e.  the  Israelites  sometimes  journeyed  day  after  day,  some- 


IX.  15-22  87 

times  they  remained  encamped  a  whole  day  (v.^^^),  sometimes 
a  couple  of  days,  or  a  month,  or  more  indefinite  periods,  v.'^^'^. 
The  last  clause  of  v.^^  is  omitted  in  fflr,  and  is  very  probably 
dittographic.  Omitting  this  clause  (but  not  W^''  IS,  which  is 
also  omitted  by  ffic^),  we  may  translate  v.  2^- 22a  thus — "Some- 
times the  cloud  would  remain  from  evening  to  morning,  and 
the  cloud  would  rise  up  in  the  morning  and  (the  people)  would 
journey ;  or  (it  would  remain)  a  day  and  a  night,  or  two  dstys, 
or  a  month,  or  for  some  time."  The  rendering  of  W'D'^  hy  year 
(RV.)  is  quite  unjustifiable,  and  is  not  to  be  defended  by  a 
reference  to  Lev.  25-^;  it  means  simply  an  indefinite  period 
(cp.  €.£".  Gn.  40*,  Neh.  i*),  which,  from  the  context,  may 
sometimes  be  Inferred  to  be  short  (less  than  ten  days,  if  the 
text  of  Gn.  24^^  be  correct)  or  long — here,  for  instance,  pre- 
sumably more  than  a  month. — 22b.  Cj  om. — 23a.  (5^  om. 
This  may  be  according  to  the  original  text,  but  is  more 
probably  a  further  stage  in  the  shortening  of  the  text  than 
that  represented  by  (B^^^,  which  omit  the  first  clause  only. 
Manifestly  either  f^  or  ffi^  is  right. 

15.  n-p-i]  subj.  D'part ;  cp.  Dav.  108,  R.  i.  S  cpin  (3rd  s.  pf.  Hophal) ; 
cp.  fflf  21°. — nny.T  hm^h]  Kon.  iii.  289^.  Paterson  in  SBOT.  regards  the 
words  as  a  gloss  ;  see  his  note  there. — 20.  ^l^'x  1^']  =  "  There  were  (times) 
when":  so  only  here  and  in  the  next  v.  But  cp.  "KPN  »'=" there  were 
some  who"...  Neh.  5^'^*S  and  Syriac  phrases,  such  as  r^l?  ^1 
{e.g.  I  Cor.  i^'  in  Pesh.),  __»3isO(j  Z\_»|:  cp.  Payne  Smith,  Thesaurus 
Syriacus,  p.  172. — ncoa  D'D']  rather 'd  'D' ;  |^  has  arisen  from  dittography 
of  D.  ITDO  in  this  tj'pe  of  idiom  (=  "  few  ")  is  always  elsewhere  in  the  gen. 
— 22.  J3&3n  ^j;]  fflt  om.  Probably  the  phrase  was  a  gloss  on  vhy  ;  in  ^  it 
has  replaced  v^y,  in  |§  it  has  gained  a  place  in  the  text  by  the  side  of  v'jj;. 

X.  1-10.  The  silver  trumpets. — Their  workmanship  and 
purpose,  v.2 ;  the  occasions  of  their  use  {a)  in  the  wilderness, 
v.2"^ ;  [b]  in  Canaan,  v.®'-. 

In  V."-,  also  in  v."-  **• '',  the  verbs  are  in  the  2nd  pers.  pi.  (ct.  3rd  pi.  in 
V.""  *''•  ^) ;  Di.  for  this  reason,  and  because  v.®'*  deals  with  a  different  use 
of  the  trumpets,  and  because  of  the  incompleteness  of  v.^*  "*  (see  below), 
regards  v.^'*  as  derived  by  a  redactor  (or  less  probably  by  P)  from  a 
different  source,  viz.  S,  i.e.  H,  and  v.*-^*-^  as  redactional  expansions. 
In  favour  of  this  conclusion  he  also  notes  in  v.^'*  "  I  am  Yahweh  your 
God,"  ncn^a  nid,  ni'='* enemy"  (elsewhere  almost  confined  to  the  elevated 
style,  yet  cp.  25'^),  and  d^khn^  (cp.  Lev.  ig'-*-  ^  22-'*  23^-  25^* '"  26').     On  v.^*- 


88  NUMBERS 

cp.  also  Kayser,  Das  vorexil.  Buck  d.  Urgesch.  Isr.  p.  So  (v.*  contains  the 
customary  conclusion);  CH.  ;  Baentsch,  Heiligkeitsgesetz,  8f.  (v.*'*  an 
earlier  source,  but  whether  H  doubtful). 

The  manufacture  of  these  trumpets,  which  are  hence- 
forward to  be  used  for  sounding  the  march,  is  the  last  act 
recorded  by  P  prior  to  the  departure  from  Sinai,  v.^^.  To  the 
trumpet  (nii^'n)  there  is  no  reference  in  any  preceding  part  of 
the  narrative  of  the  Exodus ;  but  E  mentions  the  horn  i^y 
in  Ex.  19^^,  "iDIki'  in  Ex.  igi3.i6.i9  20^8),  and  H  contains  a  law 
(Lev.  25^)  relative  to  the  use  of  the  horn  in  Canaan. 

1,  2.  The  trumpets  are  to  be  of  silver,  with  chased  work, 
and  are  to  be  used  to  summon  the  people  and  to  give  the 
signal  for  breaking  up  camp. — 2.  Trianpets]  (nin^iVn)  were 
apparently  much  less  used  for  secular  purposes  than  the  horn 
(iSiw^),  which  is  so  frequently  mentioned  in  early  literature.  Of 
their  secular  use  we  read  only  in  Hos.  5^,  2  K.  11^*.  Of  their 
sacred  use  there  is  mention  in  2  K.  12^*,  P  (here  and  31^), 
Ps.  98*^,  and  especially  in  Ch.,  Ezr.,  and  Neh.  The  instrument 
is  described  by  Josephus  [Aiit.  iii.  12^  aacoapd)  as  rather 
less  than  a  cubit  long,  and  is  no  doubt  the  long  straight 
instrument  depicted  on  the  Arch  of  Titus ;  see,  further,  Well- 
hausen.  Psalms  [SBOT.),  220 f.,  where  illustrations  may  be 
found. — 0/  turned  work]  nC'pO  (Ex.  2^^^-  ^i  37^  etc.). — 3  f.  A 
blast  on  both  trumpets  is  to  be  the  signal  for  the  whole  people, 
on  one  alone  for  the  princes  (i^^)  to  assemble.  Kn.  Di.  com- 
pare the  practice  of  summoning  the  Roman  "curia  cen- 
turiata"  by  means  of  a  trumpet  (Gell.  15.  27.  2;  Prupert. 
4.  I.  13). — 5  f.  A  series  of  alarms  (nynn)  on  the  trumpets  are 
to  give  the  signal  for  the  several  divisions  of  the  camp  success- 
ively to  break  up.— 5b.  Cp.  23-9.— 6a.  q^^  210-^^.  After  v.*^-^ 
<Bi  inserts — -'And  ye  shall  blow  a  third  alarm,  and  the  camp 
which  encamped  westwards  shall  break  up  (cp.  2^^-^*) ;  and  ye 
shall  blow  a  fourth  alarm,  and  the  camp  which  encamped 
northwards  shall  break  up  "  (cp.  2-^"^^).  U  has  a  much  briefer 
addition — "  Et  iuxta  hunc  modum  reliqui  facient." — 6b.  T/iey 
shall  blow  an  alarm  whenever  they  (the  Israelites)  are  to  make 
a  start]  V^'O  is  here  used  in  its  strict  sense  of  "the  start,"  and 
not,  as  it  is  used  in  some  cases,  of  the  journey  started  upon  ; 


X.  i-.o  89 

so  (5  exceptionally,  but  rightly,  e^apai^.  The  plural  (Dn'i'DC^) 
may  have  reference  either  to  the  several  starts  of  the  different 
divisions  on  a  single  occasion,  v.^-  *"%  or  to  the  successive 
future  starts  of  the  whole  company. — 7.  Ayid  when  bringing 
together  the  assembly^  brp  is  frequent  in  P,  but  much  less  char- 
acteristic of  his  style  than  "congregation"  (my),  which  is 
used  in  v.^;  on  the  latter,  cp.  phil.  n.  on  i^. — Ye  shall 
blow,  but  not  sound  an  alarm\  The  difference  intended  is 
uncertain ;  in  Hos.  5^  the  two  terms  ypn  and  ynn  seem  to  be 
synonymous.  The  noun  derived  from  the  latter  (nj/lin  = 
"  alarm,"  v.^)  is,  especially  in  early  literature,  used  more  par- 
ticularly of  the  battle-cry  {e.g.  Am.  i^^,  Jer.  4^^) ;  hence, 
perhaps,  the  phrase  in  31^  (njjnnn  nn^i^'n).  Thus,  although 
in  P  the  word  is  also  used  in  a  very  different  way  {e.g.  29^), 
the  present  command  may  mean :  blow  the  trumpet,  but  not 
with  martial  notes.  Whether  the  first  verb  (ypn)  means  to 
produce  a  series  of  short  staccato  notes  (Di.)  or  a  single  long 
blast  (BDB.  p.  348^),  there  is  no  sufficient  evidence  to  decide. 
— A  statute  for  ever\  The  phrase  in  the  Hexateuch  is  confined 
to  P,  who  uses  it  frequently  (CH.  62) ;  it  occurs  in  the  pi.  in 
Ezek.  46^^. — Througho2tt  your  generations^  Dr.  L.O.T.  332,  No. 
20;  CH.  763. — 9.  When  the  Israelites  are  settled  in  Canaan 
the  trumpets  are  to  be  blown  in  time  of  battle  to  keep  God 
in  remembrance  of  Israel,  and  so  to  secure  Israel's  delivery 
(Ps.  44^"^).  For  if  God  "forgets,"  Israel  suffers  defeat  (Ps. 
4422-24^^  For  this  use  of  the  trumpets,  cp.  2  Ch.  13^^"^^, 
Mac.  4*®  5^  16^. — 10.  On  (extraordinary)  public  festivals, 
en  fixed  feasts  (Lev.  23)  and  new  moons  (28^^),  a  blast  of 
trumpets  is  to  accompany  the  burnt-offerings  and  peace- 
offerings  to  secure  God's  attention :  cp.  2  Ch.  29-'^,  Ps. 
98^  Sir.  50^^;  also  Ps.  47. — A  memorial  before  your  God\ 
Ex.  28^'';  and  see  Herzfeld,  Gesch,  des  Volkes  Jisrael,  ii. 
164-167. 

2.  dhk]  Dav.  I,  R.  3.— nt*  jrao"?!]  cp.  4-^n.— 3.  nyui  .  .  .  lypni]  Dr. 
Tenses,  149  ;  so  v."-. — U'pm]  ffi  Kal  a-aXwlffeis ;  so  U. — 6.  ."HCn]  S  mistakenly 
n:iss.— 9.  'Vd  iNnn]  the  usual  phrase  is  "  to  go  into  battle  "  {'oh  av) ;  in 
2i2i  32®  we  have  'ch  Nia.  The  present  phrase  is  quite  peculiar. — cd'h^n] 
ffi  cm.— 10.  DOK/in]  S  and  many  Heb.  MSS.  plene  aymn  ;  G.-K.  ^ik. 


90  NUMBERS 

X.  ii-XXI.  9  (JE  P).  The  northward  march 
from  Sinai ;  the  wanderings  and  marches  zvest 
of  the  *Arabah. 

The  period  covered  by  this  second  main  section  of  the 
book  is  about  forty  years  (14^  10^^  2022^-,  cp.  33^^);  but  the 
bulk  of  it  is  concerned  with  the  opening  (10^^-14*^)  and  closing 
(20^^^^"2_2i9)  months.  A  single  incident, — the  revolt  of  Korah, 
Dathan,  and  Abiram  and  its  consequences  (c.  16-18), — or  at 
most  two,  if  we  include  here  20^"^^,  and  some  miscellaneous 
laws  (c.  15.  19)  are  alone  referred  to  the  intervening  years. 

Here  as  elsewhere  the  editor  adopts  P  as  his  main  thread.  To  P's 
brief  account  of  the  removal  from  Sinai  to  the  scene  of  the  wanderings 
(io""'^W))  he  adds  the  parallel  from  JE  (lo^'^)  and  much  other  matter 
from  that  source  (lo^-ia^®).  In  the  story  of  the  spies  he  opens  with  a 
long  extract  from  P  (13'''^  and  then  fuses  the  stories  of  P  and  JE.  With 
P's  account  of  Korah's  revolt  he  combines  JE's  story  of  the  revolt  of 
Dathan  and  Abiram  ;  and  he  again  fuses  matter  from  the  two  main  sources 
in  20'"^;  but  P's  account  of  the  death  of  Aaron  (20-^'^")  is  kept  quite  distinct 
from  the  extracts  from  JE  {2o"'-i  21^"®),  among  which  it  is  appropriately 
placed.  To  this  editor  or  yet  later  hands  we  may  attribute  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  laws  in  c.  15.  19  (cp.  Introd.  §  loflf.)  and  the  matter  of  lo^^'^  ; 
also  the  additions  to  the  story  of  Korah  (see  on  c.  16),  and  the  suppression 
of  the  full  details  of  date  in  20'. 

X.  11-28.  The  departure  from  Sinai  (P).— Guided  by  the 
cloud,  the  Israelites  on  the  20th  day  of  the  second  month 
of  the  second  year  leave  Sinai  and  (subsequently)  encamp 
in  the  wilderness  of  Paran,  v.^^'-  The  tribal  princes  (i^^^)  are 
mentioned,  and  the  order  of  the  march,  agreeing  in  the  main 
with  that  in  c.  2,  is  described  v.^^~^. 

Indications  of  P  are  (1)  in  v.'"-  the  date,  the  conception  of  the  cloud 
(cp.  9'^*",  Ex,  40^'^),  pii'S,  c^'i'mV ;  (2)  in  v.^^"*^  the  names  of  the  princes, 
the  relation  to  c.  2,  **'  'S  hy,  nro.  But  the  disagreement  of  v.^^"^'  with  2'^ 
points  to  another  hand — P*;  so  Di.,  Bacon,  CH.  A  further  expansion  of 
the  text  here  is  found  in  S,  where  Dt.  i**"'*  ii  cited  almost  verbatim  and 
prefixed  to  v.^". 

11.  The  Israelites  leave  Sinai  between  ten  and  twelve 
months  after  reaching  it  (Ex.  19^),  possibly  in  P^  exactly 
twelve  months  after  (cp.  Ex.  16^;  Nold.  Untersuchungen^  73 


X.  II-2I  91 

n.  i). — The  tabernacle  of  testiniony\  g^^  n. — 12.  By  their 
joiinieys\  or  stages.  The  journey  from  Sinai  to  Paran  occu- 
pied several  days.  On  Un'^V^t^h,  see  v.^  n. ;  and  for  the  phrase 
in  its  present  sense,  33^,  Ex.  ly^:  cp.  Gn.  13^  (JE),  Ex.  40^6. 3s_ 
— The  "wilderness  of  Para7i\  The  precise  boundaries  of  the 
district  are  somewhat  uncertain.  According  to  P,  the  W. 
of  Paran  is  reached  by  an  indefinite  number  of  stages  from 
Sinai  in  the  direction  of  Canaan ;  hence  the  spies  are  de- 
spatched {\2^^^-  13^)  and  hither  return  (13^^),  and  here  the 
forty  years  of  wandering  are  spent  (142^^24  jj^  ^j^g  light  of 
13^^).  In  the  fortieth  year  the  people  apparently  march  out 
of  the  W.  of  Paran  to  Kadesh  (see  on  20^).  From  this  we 
may  infer  that  it  lay  N.  of  Sinai  and  S.  of  Kadesh.  The 
other  data  do  not  conflict  with  this,  if  in  i  S.  25^  the  Ma'on 
of  ffi  be  substituted  for  the  Paran  of  MT.  (so  We.  Dr.). 
The  wilderness  of  Paran  is  Ishmael's  dwelling-place  (Gn. 
21^^  E);  Paran  itself  lay  between  Midian  and  Egypt  (i  K 
11^^):  cp.,  further,  Gn.  14^  (El-paran)  and  Hab.  3^  (Paran 
II  Teman).  Mt.  Paran  is  associated  with  Seir  and  Sinai  in 
Dt.  33^.  Its  E.  border  was,  apparently,  the  'Arabah.  The 
W.  of  Paran  thus  corresponds  approximately  to  the  desert 
of  Et-tih  (on  which  see  Palmer,  Desert  of  the  Wilderness,  p. 
284  fF.).  Cheyne  [EBi.  3583)  suggests  that  the  term  may  have 
had  a  wider  and  a  narrower  usage,  in  the  former  including 
the  W.  of  Sin,  and  so  stretching  right  up  to  the  Negeb. — 13. 
And  they  first  departed^  '*this  was  their  first  departure  which 
followed  on  the  command  of  God  communicated  by  means  of 
the  lifting  of  the  cloud"  (Di.) — the  least  unnatural  interpreta- 
tion of  the  text.  Possibly  "first"  (n2L"X")3)  has  been  acci- 
dentally repeated  from  the  next  v. — 14-16.  See  2^'^. — 14.  The 
co?npa?iy]  2^  n. — The  children  of  Jttdah  marched  firsi\  i.e.  in 
front :  ct.  v.-^. — 17.  And  the  tabernacle  used  to  he  taken  down] 
From  this  v.  down  to  v.^''  all  the  verbs  are  frequentatives,  indi- 
cating the  general  practice  on  a  series  of  marches. — Carrying 
the  tabernacle]  and  its  appurtenances,  4^^'-  ^^^•. — 18-20.  See  2^°"^^. 
— 20.  Detiel\al.  Re'u'el:  1^*  n. — 21.  And  the  Kohathites  -who 
carried  the  holy  things]  enumerated  in  3^^  4^^-.  tJ'npD  cannot 
here   mean    "sanctuary"    (RV.),    though    that    is    its    usual 


92  NUMBERS 

meaning;  for  the  building  when  taken  to  pieces  is  cariied 
by  the  Merarites  and  Gershonites,  vJ'^  3"^^-  ^*^^-.  The  use  of 
KHpD  here  is  quite  exceptional  and  indeed  improper ;  the 
nearest  parallel  is  18-^;  in  both  cases  the  text  may  be  at 
fault  (cp.  BDB.  574«). — And  they  (the  Gershonites  and 
Merarites)  used  to  set  up  the  tabernacle  against  they  (the 
Kohathites)  caine\  Such  must  be  the  meaning ;  but  it  is 
clumsily  expressed.  For  the  use  of  ly  (  =  against)  see  Gen. 
43^^,  Ex.  22^5.  Contrary  to  the  implication  of  2^'^,  the  Mer- 
arites and  Gershonites  are  here  made  to  march  off  after  the 
first  division  of  the  Israelites,  apparently  in  order  that  the 
holy  things  might  not  be  left  unsheltered  while  the  tent  was 
being  erected  in  the  new  camp.  If  so,  the  writer  did  not 
reflect  that  this  arrangement  left  them  unsheltered  before  the 
march.— 22-27.  See  2^8-31^ 

12.  pxa]  S  here  and  everywhere  "(except  Gn.  21^')  Jnis.  ^  ji  *nd  t^J^ 
are  names  of  Arab  tribes  ;  Ges.-Buhl,  6i6«. — 13,  14.  njE'sna]  Far  the  most 
frequent  meaning-  of  the  phrase  is  "  formerly,"  e.g.  2  S.  7^"  20^^,  i  K  13®, 
Jer.  7^^,  sometimes  specifically  "on  the  previous  occasion"  (i  K  20^);  it 
also  commonly  means  "first"  (adverbially) — e.g.  Dt.  17^,  i  K.  17^^;  very 
rarely  also  "at  the  beginning-"  (Pr.  20-^)  or  "in  front"  (Is.  60':  cp.,  per- 
haps, I  K  20^'^.  The  last  sense,  -which  the  antithesis  of  v.^^  requires  in 
v.^^  is  expressed  by  njrxn  in  2^,  Gn.  33^. — 17.  iT'i]]  cp.  op-in  Ex.  40''' ;  (S  S 
read  here  i"!"iii],  assimilating  to  i^^  4*. — 18.  pixn]  read  piNi  '33  with  S  (5''  IS 
and  also  some  MSS.  of  I&.  In  the  eleven  remaining  cases  in  this  section 
"^  followed  by  ^  prefixes  'J3  to  the  tribal  name,  except  in  v.^-  where 
some  MSS.  of  pj  and  ffi  omit  '33  ;  F  omits  'J3  in  v.'«-2»-^-' ;  S>  in  v. ^s.  22.  23. 
24. 26. 27._21.  DWpn]  S  ffi  C  nnp  "33.— 25.  nsxp]  Jos.  e"- 13,  Is.  52I2.— 28.  U'd-i] 
Dr.  Tenses,  76.  (&  places  the  word  before  cn.sos*? ;  but  lij  is  no  doubt 
original. 

29-36.  The  departure  from  the  Mount  of  Yahweh  (JE).— 
In  contemplation  of  immediate  departure  Moses  begs  his 
kinsman  Hobab  to  accompany  the  Israelites  as  guide,  and 
give  them  the  benefit  of  his  great  knowledge  of  the  camping 
places  in  the  wilderness,  v.^^^^.  When  they  actually  start, 
they  are  led  by  the  ark,  v.^^;  in  v.^  a  reference  is  made  to 
the  cloud,  and  in  v.^^-  ^^  poetical  addresses  to  the  ark  are 
cited. 

The  narrative  of  JE,  last  cited  in  Ex.  34''*,  is  here  resumed.  Proofs  of 
the  derivation  of  v."^"**  from  JE — (i)  the  w.   arc  p.irallel  and  not  con- 


X.  22-29  93 

secutive  to  v.''"'-'-^';  in  v.*^  the  Israelites  are  in  Paran,  several  days' 
journey  from  Sinai ;  in  v.-^"^^  they  are  still  at  Sinai,  and  only  leave  it  in 
v.^^ ;  (2)  in  v.^'  (cp.  3^^  P)  the  ark  is  carried  in  the  midst  of  the  people, 
in  v.^^  it  precedes  them;  (3)  linguistic  evidence — n:  (CH.  186),  nij;  (160), 
]3  'jj;  '3  (35),  3"t:'.T  (38)  ;  see  also  notes  below.  As  between  J  and  E  the 
evidence  favours  J  (Di.,  Kue.,  Corn.,  Kit.,  Bacon);  note  Re'u'el  (cp.  Ex, 
2'^  J),  not  Jethro  (Ex.  3^4^^  i8"''-  E),  290/3  corresponding-  more  closely  to 
Ex,  33I  (J)  than  to  Ex,  32^''  (E)  and  the  phrase  'm'^iD  Vni  'bin  hi<  (cp,  Gn,  12* 
24'*  31^  (J);  ct.  im'jia  pN  Vn  Gn.  31'^  (E) ;  see  CH.  60).— The  ultimate 
source  of  v.^^,  which  did  not  originally  form  the  immediate  sequence  to 
v.2=^,  is  less  certain.  Many  detect  traces  of  the  hand  of  E  (Kue,,  Kit,,  Corn., 
Di.,  Moore),  In  v.**  we  have  a  conception  of  the  cloud  which  is  that  of 
neither  J  nor  E,  but  is  similar  to  P's  (9^'"^-)  :  the  v,  appears  to  be  a  note  of  P^ 
which  has  gained  its  present  position  in  %],  another  in  G,  where  it  stands 
after  v.^*".  Whether  the  ancient  poetical  snatches  in  v.^^i-  were  derived  by 
the  editor  from  JE  or  from  some  other  source  must  remain  uncertain, 
though  the  idiom  3  '.Ti  in  v."  is  quite  favourable  to  the  former  alternative 
(CH,  127JE). 


29.  Hobab^  the  son  of  Reuel,  the  Midianite,  the  father-in- 
law  of  Moses]  Hobab  has  not  been  previously  mentioned.  In 
Jud.  4^^  he  is  called  the  father-in-law  (jnn)  of  Moses,  as  also 
perhaps  in  the  original  text  of  Jud.  i^^  (see  Moore,  ad  loc). 
Re'u'el  is  a  clan  name,  and  the  meaning-  of  the  writer  both 
here  and  in  Judges  may  be  that  Hobab  was  a  member  of  the 
clan  ("son")  of  Re'u'el.  In  that  case  we  may  suppose  that 
the  name  Hobab  has  been  suppressed  before  or  in  favour  of 
Re'u'el  in  Ex.  2^^,  and  consequently  that  in  J's  narrative  he 
had  been  mentioned  previously  to  the  present  section.  Even 
so  the  present  section  opens  abruptly.  Probably  in  the 
source  whence  it  was  drawn,  it  was  prefaced  by  an  account 
of  Hobab  coming  from  his  country  (cp.  v.^**)  to  visit  the 
Israelites  at  Sinai ;  fragments  of  this  introduction  are  perhaps 
preserved  in  Ex.  18,  which  consists  in  the  main  of  a  parallel 
narrative  in  E  of  Jethro's  visit.  Cheyne  {EBi.)  identifies 
Hobab  with  Jehonadab,  the  founder  of  the  Rechabites. 
Though  the  early  Hebrew  traditions  differ  as  to  the  name 
of  Moses'  father-in-law — E  calls  him  Jethro — and  as  to  the 
name  of  his  tribe,  which  in  some  cases  is  said  to  be  Midianite 
(Ex.  3I  4'^8f.)^  in  others  Kenite  (Jud.  i^'^  411)^  ^j^gy  agree  in 
connecting  him  by  marriage  with  an  Arab  or  nomadic  tribe, 
for  such  were  both  Midianites  and  Kenites;  see  also  12^  n. 


94  NUMBERS 

The  place  of  which  Yahweh  said,  I  will  give  it  yoii\  Ex.  33' 
(J);  see  n.  on  13^. — The  present  story  seems  earlier  in 
origin  than  the  promise  of  the  accompaniment  of  the  angel 
(Ex.  33^).  The  impress  of  nomadic  life  is  here  fresh  and 
clear.  What  Moses,  as  leader  of  the  people  from  Sinai 
to  Canaan,  needed  was  one  who  knew  the  various  camping 
places. — And  let  us  do  thee  good\  give  thee  a  share  in  the 
prosperity  which  Yahweh  has  promised  us:  cp.  v.^-,  Gn.  12^^ 
2210.13(9.12)^  jQg_  24^". — For  it  is  Yahweh  who  has  promised 
Israel  prosperity]  and  having  promised  will  fulfil :  the  subj. 
is  emphatic.  For  ijy  "12T  virtually  ='*  to  promise,"  see  Gn. 
18^9,  Jos.  231^. 

30.  Hobab  declines  Moses'  invitation :  he  prefers  to  go 
home.  This  implies  that  the  route  to  Canaan  was  different 
from  that  to  Midian.  Most  justice  is  done  to  this  if  we  suppose 
that  Sinai  lay  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  top  of 
'Akabah  ;  for  then  the  route  of  the  Hebrews  to  Kadesh  would 
lie  to  the  N.W.,  that  of  Hobab  to  the  E.  Apart  from  the 
passages  connecting  Midian  with  the  mount  of  God,  all  refer- 
ences imply  that  the  Midianites  had  their  homes  on  the  E.  of 
the  'Arabah  and  the  Gulf  of 'Akabah  (Jud.  6-8,  Gn.  25^  36^5, 
Nu.  22^  25^^-  31).  There  is  no  reason  for  locating  them  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  except  the  assumption 
that  Sinai-Horeb  lay  there ;  then  cp.  Ex.  3^.  If,  however,  in 
deference  to  the  traditional  view  of  the  site  of  Sinai,  we  are  to 
conclude  that  Hobab's  particular  division  of  Midianites  occu- 
pied the  south  of  the  Sinaitic  peninsula  (cp.  Di.  on  Ex.  2^^), 
then  we  must  probably  think  of  them  as  cut  off  from  the 
Midianites  of  the  E.;  otherwise  the  route  of  the  Hebrews,  if, 
as  is  usually  assumed,  it  went  by  the  top  of  the  Gulf  of 'Akabah, 
would  have  lain  for  some  distance  through  Midianite  country. 
Cp.,  further,  Sayce,  Early  Hist,  of  Hebrews,  186-189,  213,  who 
cites  Baker  Greene,  Hebrew  Migration  from  Egypt;  and  on 
the  survival  of  the  name  E.  of  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah  in  the 
MoBiava  of  Ptolemy  (6^)  and  the  Madyan  of  Arabic  geographers, 
see  EBi.  col.  3081. — 31  f.  Moses  further  presses  Hobab  to 
accompany  him,  reiterating,  v.^^,  the  promise  made  before,  v.^^^. 
At  this  point  the  story  breaks  off  and  Hobab's  final  decision  is 


X.  3^3?  95 

not  given.  We  may  infer  fromjud.  i^^  that  it  was  favour- 
able.*— 31.  Thoii-  knowesi  our  encaniphig\  i.e.  where  we  can 
and  ought  to  encamp.  The  inf.  (l3njn)  refers  to  the  future ; 
the  paraphrastic  renderings  of  ffi  and  21  interpret  it  of  the 
past,  and  also  change  the  sense  of  the  next  clause,  so  as  to 
avoid  the  incongruity  of  Moses  seeking  a  natural  guide  when 
(according  to  the  composite  narrative,  v.^^~^^-  2^*-  g^'^^-)  he  was 
so  fully  assisted  by  supernatural  signs  and  agents.  The  ren- 
dering of  v.^^**  in  2D  is  as  follows:  "Thou  knowest  how  we 
were  encamping  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  mighty  deeds 
which  were  done  unto  us  hast  thou  seen  with  thine  eyes  " ; 
and  in  ffir :  "Thou  wast  with  us  in  the  wilderness,  and 
shalt  be  an  elder  among  us." — 31.  But  become  unto  us 
eyes]  Job  29^^.  —  33.  The  mount  of  VaAwe/i]  i.e.  Horeb- 
Sinai;  so  only  here:  but  cp.  "the  mount  of  God"  (in 
D>n?Nn  =  Horeb),  Ex.  3I  4^^  18^  2413  (all  E),  i  K.  igH;  in  a 
different  sense,  Ezek.  28^^.  Perhaps  "the  mount  of  God " 
originally  stood  here,  and  "Yahvveh"  is  due  to  an  editor. 
Elsewhere  "the  mount  of  Yahweh "  is  Zion — e.g.  Is.  2^  = 
Mic.  42,  Is.  3o29,  Ps.  243,  Gn.  22^^  (?  originally  "God").— 
Three  dayd  journey]  Gn.  30^^,  Ex.  3^^,  Nu.  33^:  cp.  Ex.  15-^. 
The  repetition  of  these  words  in  clause  b  may  be  due  to 
dittography.  The  only  meaning  of  the  whole  verse  as  it 
stands  is  that  during  a  three  days'  march  from  Sinai  the  ark 
was  always  three  days'  journey  in  front  of  the  people — a 
useless  position  for  a  guide :  cp.  We.  Comp.  100  f.  As  here, 
so  in  Jos.  3^^-  (D),  the  ark  precedes  the  Israelites  and  acts  as 
their  guide  along  an  unknown  route  ;  but  there  it  is  borne  by 
"the  priests,  the  Levites."  Here,  if  we  may  judge  from  so 
fragmentary  a  record,  it  is  conceived  of  as  moving  by  itself: 
cp.  I  S.  5  f.,  especially  5^^  6^^-,  2  S.  6^  The  pillar  of  cloud  is 
certainly  thought  to  move  of  itself  {e.g.  Ex.  13^").  Like  the 
cloud,  the  ark  moves  because  it  is  the  form  in  which  Yahweh 
accompanies  the  people.  With  the  conception  of  Yahweh's 
going  before  the  people,  cp.  A^ur-nasir-abal's  account  of  the 
god  Nergal — "  With  the  exalted  help  of  Nergal,  who  -went  before 

*  Di.,  Kit.  {Gesch.  181  n.  5),  Sayce  (Early  Hist,  of  the  Hebrews,  p. 
213  f.).. 


96  NUMBERS 

me  [Nirgal  a-lik  pa-ni-a)^  I  fought  against  them."* — Tlic 
ark  of  the  covenant  of  Vahwek]  {'•"''  rT'na  ilix)  P's  phrase  is 
different  (nnyn  p"lN).  The  present  phrase  is  most  character- 
istic of  Deuteronomic  writers  {e.£:  Dt.  io^3i^-^^^-,  i  K.  6^^), 
and  in  passages  Hke  this,  derived  from  J  or  E,  the  word  n^"i3 
may  be  redactorial.t — To  seek  out  for  them  a  resting-place] 
cp.  Dt.  i^,  Ex.  33^^.  On  nin  =  "to  seek  out,"  see  13^  phil.  n. 
— 34.  The  V.  coheres  very  loosely  with  the  preceding.  After 
y_33  -yyg  expect  a  statement  of  the  place  reached  after  the  three 
days' journey  :  cp.  Ex.  i5^^-.  This  is  not  given,  though  in 
11^-^  previous  arrival  at  a  definite  place  is  assumed. — The 
cloud  of  Vahweh]  only  here,  14^*  (R),  and  Ex.  40^. —  Was  tipon 
them\  The  idea  is  not  that  of  J  (nor  of  E),  whose  cloud  pre- 
cedes the  people  (Ex.  13^^') ;  nor  quite  the  same  as  that  of 
P°,  with  whom  the  cloud  rests  over  the  tabernacle  (lo'^^). — 
35.  When  the  ark  started,  Moses  said]  Here,  as  in  v.^^,  the 
ark  starts  of  itself,  and  the  words  which  follow  may  be  taken 
as  addressed  to  it.  The  ark  is  the  visible  form  in  or  by  whicV 
Yahweh  manifests  His  presence,  and  may  therefore,  like  the 
angel  of  Yahweh,  be  addressed  as  Yahweh.  It  would  be 
futile  to  attempt  to  date  the  two  sayings ;  they  have  the 
savour  of  antiquity  about  them,  and  may  have  originated  at 
any  time  subsequent  to  the  growth  of  the  national  conscious- 
ness of  union  through  Yahweh,  except  that  the  second  seems 
to  imply  an  already  existing  settled  life  in  Canaan. 

Arise,  Yahweh  !   that  Thine  enemies  may  be  scattered, 
That  they  that  hate  Thee  may  flee  before  Thee. 

The  cry  reflects  the  old  Hebrew  thought  of  Yahweh  as  a 
God  of  battles  (cp.  21^*  n.) ;  Yahweh  '*  arose"  when  He  gave 
His  people  victory  :  cp.  Is.  28-^  in  its  reference  to  2  S.  520-20^ 
For  the  ark  in  battle,  cp.  i  S.  4^*^- ;  with  the  second  clause, 
Jud.  5^'\  The  cry  is  repeated  in  Ps.  68^ ^^\  and  is  referred  to 
in  Ps.  132^,  which  so  modifies  the  form  of  the  vocative  as 
clearly  to  distinguish  the  ark  from  Yahweh. — 36.  And  when 

*  Annal.  Inscription,  col.  ii,  1.  27  f.;  cp.  11.  26,  50  ;  iii.  ^z  =  KB.  i.  pp.  74, 
78,  104  ;  see,  further,  Del.  Assyr.  Handworterbuch,  5310. 

t  Cp.  Cheyne  in  EBi.  300  f.;  Seyring  in  ZATW.  1891,  114-125. 


X.  34-36  97 

it  came  to  rest]  v.^  n. — Be  tised  to  sa}<\  The  verb  is  frequenta- 
tive.— Return  Yahiveh  to  the  ten  thousand  families  of  Jsrael]  an 
address  to  the  ark  returning  from  victory,  and  a  prayer  that 
Yahweh  may  dwell  again  undisturbed  with  His  people.  Such 
words  could  be  suitably  addressed  to  the  ark  returning  from 
battle  to  its  fixed  sanctuary,  whether  Shiloh,  Nob,  or  some 
other  place,  after  the  people  were  settled  in  Canaan.  It  is 
less  clearly  suitable  to  the  circumstances  of  the  march  through 
the  wilderness ;  the  people  overtake  the  ark,  the  ark  does  not 
return  to  them ;  Yahweh  is  regarded  as  being  with  them  on 
the  march  as  well  as  in  the  camp. — Families\  lit.  "  thousands  " 
("S^X) ;  here  used  of  a  division  of  a  tribe  (cp.  n.  on  i^^)  rather 
than  numerically. 

Del.  {Zeitschr.  f.  kirchliche  Wissenschafi,  1882,  p.  234)  cites  the 
Return  of  Ps.  90^*  ("the  prayer  of  Moses")  as  a  parallel  to  the 
present  "Mosaic"  verse,  and  compares  also  the  same  cry  in  the 
Davidic  Psalms,  6'  7*,  and,  further,  the  arise  of  v.^^  with  Ps.  3^  7*' ;  but 
though  the  words  are  the  same,  the  conceptions  they  express  in  the 
Psalms  are  very  different. — 29.   jnn]   regularly  means   "father-in-law." 

In  Ar.  (.t-^>-  is  used  not  only  of  the  father-in-law,  but  also  of  other 
relatives  of  the  wife.  So  some  here  render  "  brother-in-law  "  or  "  relative," 
making  the  phrase  qualify  33n  ;  so  also  in  Jud.  1'*  4"  ;  cp.  Moore,  Judges, 
p.  33.  On  the  etymology  of  [nn="circumciser,"  see  BDB.  s.v.  [nn  and  the 
literature  there  cited.— 31.  p  hv  '=]  Gn,  18'  19^  33>»  38^6  (J)  ;  also  Nu.  I4•'^ 
Jud.  6^2,  2  S.  iS-»  {K're),  Jer.  29^8  38';  see  BDB.  p.  4756;  Kon.  iii.  373?. 
— 35.  ffi  inserts  ^3  before  yn^i^to  and  omits  t^ed. — 36.  nmm]  G.-K.  91^. — 
nnic]  is  followed  by  an  ace.  of  direction  (G.-K.  i  iSdf).  Others  consider  naic 
trans,  (ffit ;  Kon.  iii.  210  f.).  But  the  use  of  3Was  a  trans,  vb.  is  almost  con- 
fined to  the  phrase  rrau'  aity;  and,  as  Del.  (p.  233)  points  out,  "  Bring  back 
the  ten  thousand  families  of  Israel,"  would  give  a  saying  more  suited  to 
the  march  out  than  to  the  return  home. — For  various  views  of  the  inverted 
nuns  within  which  v.^'*  (like  Ps.  iq-j'^-''^- ^)  are  enclosed,  see  Del.  p.  230  f. 

XI.  XII.  Incidents  between  Sinai  and  Kadesh  (JE). 

The  four  incidents  related  in  these  chapters  are  referred 
by  the  editor  who  has  given  them  their  present  position  to 
the  march  from  Sinai  (lo^^-^^)  to  Paran  or  Kadesh  (10^2  J2I6 
j^s.  26j^  These  incidents  are  (i)  the  destruction  of  murmurers 
at  Tab'erah,  1 1^-^ ;  (2)  the  lust  for  flesh,  i  i^-^o-  ^s-  i8-24a.  31-34 .  (.) 
the  resting  of  the  spirit  of  prophecy  on  seventy  elders  and 
also  on  Eldad  and  Medad,   i  iie.  i7a.  24b-3o .   (^^  t^g  vindication 

7 


98  NUMBERS 

of  Moses*  uniqueness  against  the  criticism  of  Aaron  and 
Miriam,  i2^~^^.  In  iiii'-i**-i7b  ^.g  probably  have  matter  not 
originally  connected  with  any  of  the  incidents. 

Except  for  a  clause  or  two  of  his  own  (ii^'^*'  I2^^)»  the 
entire  matter  of  these  chapters  was  drawn  by  the  editor  from 
JE,  but  with  some  difference  of  arrangement  and  setting. 

The  entire  absence  of  all  traces  of  P's  style  (on  rnnEiro'?  in  ii^"  see  n. 
below),  together  with  abundant  evidence  of  the  style,  motives,  and  ideas 
of  JE  (see  margin  in  CH.  and  below),  and  the  fact  that  P's  story  of  manna 
and  quails  is  preserved  elsewhere  (Ex.  16),  have  led  to  the  practically 
unanimous  assignment  of  these  chapters  in  their  entirety  to  JE.  Kittel 
[Gesch.  i.  198),  exceptionally,  finds  possible  traces  of  P  in  1 1 18-22. 24a-35^ 
The  reference  to  the  wilderness  of  Paran  in  12^'  is  rather  an  editorial 
link  between  lo^'*  and  13^  than  a  direct  citation  from  P. 

The  present  fusion  of  the  second  and  third  incidents  may 
have  been  effected  by  the  compiler  of  JE  or  later,  but  that 
they  once  existed  apart  will  hardly  be  doubted  once  they  have 
been  read  separately  (see  p.  loi  ff.).  But  if  so  the  original 
connection  of  the  third  incident  with  Kibroth-hatta'avah 
becomes  uncertain.  Like  the  fourth  incident,  it  is  not,  taken 
by  itself,  connected  with  any  place,  and  we  cannot  be  sure 
that  the  present  position  of  either  incident  in  the  narrative 
goes  back  further  than  the  editor  who  united  P  and  JE. 
Bacon  refers  both  incidents  to  E's  account  of  the  stay  at  Sinai 
{Triple  Tradition.,  141  ff.,  336-338),  in  which  they  formed  an 
immediate  sequence  to  Ex.  33^"^^.  It  is  probable,  too,  that 
y  uf.  i4f.  also  formed  part  of  JE's  account  of  the  stay  at  Sinai 
(see  below).  On  the  other  hand,  the  editor  follows  tradition 
in  placing  the  gift  of  (manna  and)  quails  after  leaving  Sinai ; 
for  though  the  parallel  story  in  Ex.  16  is  placed  before  the 
arrival  at  Sinai,  it  still  in  itself  clearly  presupposes  the  events 
at  Sinai  (see,  e.g.^  CH.  on  Ex.  16).  There  being  no  reason  for 
suspecting  the  contrary,  we  may  suppose  that  the  incident  at 
Tab'erah  is  here  in  its  right  position. 

The  analysis  of  c.  11  f.  as  between  J  and  E,  though  much  discussed, 
still  remains  to  some  extent  uncertain  and  tentative.  The  third  and 
fourth  of  the  above  mentioned  incidents  (n'e.  i7a.  24b-30  ^jj^j  12'-!*)  are 
connected  with  Ex.  33''"^^  (E)  by  the  view  taken  of  the  theophanic  cloud 
and  the  position  of  the  tent  (see  below  on  n^s.  26.30  i2<f-) ;  in  c.  12  further 
indications   of  E  are  the   conception  of  revelation  (see  on  12^)  and  the 


XI.  I,  i  99 

prominence  of  Miriam  (cp.  Ex.  15™'*  2^"^°  E).  In  ni*- 1"»— -sb-io  ^jjg  pg^^t 
played  by  Joshua  (see  on  ii'-^)  and  the  stress  laid  on  prophecy  (cp.  c.  12) 
point  to  E.  In  the  main,  therefore,  these  two  incidents  may  well  be  before 
us  not  only  as  they  lay  in  JE,  but  even  earlier  in  E  (so  Bacon  and,  so  far 
as  c.  12  is  concerned.  Kit.  Dr.).  Some  (Kue.  CH.)  refer  them  to  E'  on 
the  ground  of  the  "advanced  reflexion  on  the  phases  of  prophetic  activity  " 
contained  in  them  (but  see  below  on  ii-^) ;  We.,  too,  does  not  derive  them 
from  the  main  stratum  of  either  J  or  E.  Di.  finds  traces  of  J  in  c.  12,  and 
analyses  ni^-^s  peculiarly.  As  to  the  rest  of  these  chapters,  such  slight 
evidence  as  there  is  favours  referring  1 1^'^  to  E  (Kue.  Di.  Kit.  Bacon,  CH.), 
while  in  the  main  at  least  the  story  of  the  manna  and  quails  together 
with  ii"''  "'•  seems  derived  from  J  (Bacon,  CH. :  earlier  critics,  e.g:  Kue. 
We.  Di.,  less  definitely  or  with  modifications).  The  purely  linguistic  data 
are  indecisive  ;  much  turns  on  interpretation  and  relation  to  other  passages, 
the  origin  of  which  is  also  often  doubtful.  See  We.  Comp.  101  f.,  323-327  ; 
Kuen.  in  Th.  Tijd.  1880,  281-302  {^  =  Ges.  Abh.,  ed.  Budde,  276-294);  and 
Hex.  139,  155,  241,  244,  247;  Kit.  Gesch.  i.  182,  191  ;  Bacon,  Triple  Tra- 
dition, 80-87,  168  f.;  Moore  in  EBi.  3440  ;  Di.  and  CH. 

XI.  1-3.  Tab'erah. — The  story,  probably  derived  from  E 
(see  on  v.^),  records  a  divine  judgment.  The  people  murmur 
on  account,  no  doubt,  of  some  hardship  described  in  the 
introduction  to  the  story  which  has  not  been  reproduced 
here.  The  fire  of  Yahweh  breaks  out  among-  them,  and,  not- 
withstanding Moses'  supplication,  burns  {b'r)  enough  of  the 
people  to  justify  naming  the  place  Tab'erah  (=  "Burning"). 
— 1.  The  people  were  as  those  complaining  of  misforitme^  V^  = 
"misfortune"  is  the  antithesis  of  DltD  =  " good  fortune,  pro- 
sperity"; cp.  V.29  n. ;  see  i  K.  22^,  Job  2^^.  The  complaints  of 
the  people  were  loud,  and  reached  the  ears  of  Yahweh,  and 
roused  His  anger. — The  fire  of  Vahweh]  the  ultimate  physical 
cause  of  the  conception  of  the  fire  that  indicated  Yahweh's 
presence  or  executed  His  judgments  may  have  been  the 
lightning  (cp.  Ex.  9-^^)  or  other  electrical  phenomena  (cp. 
"Bush,"  §  2  in  JSBz.).  In  Job  i^^  2  K.  i^^  possibly  nothing 
more  than  lightning  is  in  the  writer's  mind ;  but  here  and 
often  something  much  more  terrific  and  destructive  is  thought 
of — a  fire  that,  unlike  lightning,  does  not  always  burst 
out  from  the  sky :  cp.  16^5,  Lev.  lo^  (P),  Ex.  ig^^^-  (JE).— 
2.  Through  Moses'  intercession  the  judgment  is  arrested  now 
as  at  other  times  {21'',  Dt.  920.26.  ^p.  also  below  12^^'-).  The 
effectiveness    of  prophetic  intercession   plays   a   conspicuous 


ICX5  NUMBERS 

part  in  E's  story  of  Abraham  and  Abimelech  (Gn.  20"^-^'). 
The  term  i^^snn  is  confined  in  the  Hexateuch  to  the  parallels 
just  cited. — 3.  The  name  Tab'erah  is  probably  enough  in 
reality  older  than  the  story  and  its  cause.  The  place  is  men- 
tioned only  once  elsewhere  (Dt.  9^^),  and  then  in  connection 
with  Massah  and  Kibroth-hatta'avah.  The  site  is  unknown, 
and  the  story  is  too  loosely  connected  with  the  rest  of  the 
narrative  to  afford  much  clue  for  identifying  it. 

1.  D'3:xns3  .  .  .  '.Ti]  Kon.  iii.  3385;  BDB.  226a,  454a.  pNnn  also  Lam. 
329^._^Jl}<3]  some  MSS.  'rya  :  cp.  G  S  2;°  J°".— i2X  nn'i]  v.^^-^s  la^  22^  and 
often  ;  characteristic  of  JE  :  CH.  233  ;  ct.  <]^p,  r^-^p  .Tn  (P),  e.g.  1^  18'  16^ ; 
CH,  178. — nspa  ^3t«n]the  2  is  partitive  ;  BDB.  s.v.  a,  i.  26. — vpi^m]  vpv  here 
only  in  Hex. 

4-6.  The  lust  for  flesh. — After  eliminating-  from  ii*-^the 
story  of  the  seventy  elders  (v.^^^-  24b-30j  ^^id  also  v.^"-  ^^-  we 
have  left  a  story,  almost  intact,  of  the  lust  of  the  people  for 
flesh,  and  its  punishment.  Sick  of  the  long  diet  of  manna, 
v.^^,  they  recall  the  succulent  fare  of  Egypt,  v.^  and,  led  on 
by  the  mixed  multitude  among  them,  petulently  demand  flesh, 
v.*.  Moses  incredulously  asks  Yahweh  how  he  is  to  procure 
the  people  flesh,  v.^^  Yahweh  bids  Moses  tell  the  people 
they  shall  have  flesh  for  a  whole  month,  till,  in  fact,  they  get 
to  loathe  it,  v.^^"^^.  Moses  remains  incredulous,  but,  rebuked 
by  Yahweh,  communicates  the  message  to  the  people,  v.^^"^^*. 
Yahweh  by  means  of  a  wind  brings  up  immense  quantities 
of  quails  from  the  sea;  the  people  fall  greedily  on  them,  but 
before  the  supply  is  exhausted,  they  are  plagued  by  Yahweh  : 
the  burying  of  the  people  who  fell  in  the  plague  gave  the 
scene  of  the  divine  judgment  the  name  of  Kibroth-hatta'avah 
=  "the  graves  of  lust,"  v.^^"^^. 

The  reference  to  the  manna  in  v.^  is  followed  by  a  paren- 
thetic description  of  the  manna  and  the  modes  of  preparing  it, 
v.'^~^.  Such  a  parenthesis  may  be  due  to  the  author  of  the 
main  story,  or  inserted  by  an  editor.  It  does  not  seriously 
aff"ect  the  unity  of  the  story  itself.  The  main  reason  adduced 
by  those  who  question  this  is  the  diff"erence  between  the  actual 
plague,  v.^^,  and  the  warning,  v-''. 

As  compared  with  Ex.  16,  to  which,  in  so  far  as  it  refers 


XL  3  lOl 

to  both  manna  and  quails,  the  present  story  is  parallel,  there 
are  these  marked  differences:  in  Ex.  i6  the  manna,  here  the 
quails,  are  most  prominent;  in  Ex.  i6  manna  and  quails  are 
represented  as  both  g-iven  at  the  same  time,  here  quails  are 
first  given  after  the  people  have  been  so  long-  familiar  with  the 
manna  as  to  have  grown  weary  of  it;  in  Ex.  16  the  story 
issues  in  no  judgment,  here  the  judgment,  which  gives  its 
name  to  the  scene,  may  be  regarded  as  the  ultimate  motive  of 
the  story  (cp.  v.^~^). 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  Ex.  16  is  most  largely  derived  from  P, 
and  the  present  story  entirely  from  JE.  But  Kue.'s  able  discussion 
{Manna  en  Kwakkelen  in  Th.  Tijd.  xiv.  2?>i-202  =  Abhandlungeii  (Budde), 
276-294)  fails,  in  its  main  thesis,  to  sustain  the  criticism  of  Wellhausen 
{Comp.  323-327),  who  argued  that  there  must  have  been  a  reference  to 
manna  in  JE  before  our  present  passage,  and  that  there  are  other  elements 
than  P  in  Ex.  16.  At  the  same  time  there  is  much  in  Kue.'s  argument 
that  the  full  description  of  v.'''^  belongs  to  a  first  reference  ;  we  might  add 
— or,  as  an  alternative,  to  a  glossator.  Its  presence  here  may  therefore 
be  due  to  an  editor  who  composed  it  freely  on  the  basis  of  tradition,  or 
transferred  it  from  the  account  in  JE  of  the  first  giving  of  the  manna. 
Between  such  alternatives  style  hardly  suffices  to  decide.  So,  too,  even 
if  the  difference  between  v. 2"  and  v.^  seem  to  indicate  the  presence  of  two 
sources  (J  and  E)  in  the  story,  it  is  impossible  to  carry  the  analysis  through 
in  detail.  In  the  main  the  evidence  points  to  J.  So  Bacon,  CH. ;  Di.  Kit. 
refer  v.^'**  ^^'^  to  E.     See  further  references  cited  on  p.  99. 

The  story  of  the  lust  for  flesh,  disentangled  from  the  foreign 
matter  with  which  it  has  been  encumbered,  runs  as  follows : — 

*  And  the  mixed  multitude  that  was  among  them  fell  a  lusting :  and 
the  children  of  Israel  also  wept  again,  and  said,  O  that  we  had  flesh  to 
eat !  "  We  remember  the  fish,  which  we  were  wont  to  eat  in  Egypt  for 
nought ;  the  cucumbers,  and  the  melons,  and  the  leeks,  and  the  onions, 
and  the  garlick :  ^  but  now  our  soul  is  dried  away :  there  is  nothing  at 
all :  we  have  nought  save  this  manna  to  look  to.*  ^^  And  Moses  heard 
the  people  weeping  throughout  their  families,  every  man  at  the  door  of 
his  tent :  ''  [and  he  cried  unto  Yahweh,  saying,]  Whence  should  I  have 
flesh  to  give  unto  all  this  people?  for  they  trouble  me  with  their  weeping, 
saying,  Give  us  flesh,  that  we  may  eat.  ^*  And  the  anger  of  Yahweh 
was  kindled  greatly :  ^^  and  [He  said  unto  Moses],  Say  thou  unto  the 
people.  Sanctify  yourselves  against  to-morrow,  and  ye  shall  eat  flesh  :  for 
ye  have  wept  in  the  ears  of  Yahweh,  saying,  O  !  that  we  had  flesh  to 
eat !  for  it  was  well  with  us  in  Egypt :  therefore  Yahweh  will  give  you 

*  Here  v.''""  may  have  been  inserted  parenthetically  by  the  original 
writer.     See  above. 


102  NUMBERS 

flesh,  and  ye  shall  eat.  *'  Ye  shall  not  eat  one  day,  nor  two  days,  nor 
five  days,  neither  ten  days,  nor  twenty  days  ;  -"  but  a  whole  month,  until 
it  come  out  at  your  nostrils,  and  it  be  loathsome  unto  you  :  because  that 
ye  have  rejected  Yahweh  who  is  among  you,  and  have  wept  before  Him, 
saying.  Why  came  we  forth  out  of  Egypt  ?  ^^  And  Moses  said,  The  people, 
among  whom  I  am,  are  six  hundred  thousand  footmen ;  and  yet  Thou 
hast  said,  I  will  give  them  flesh,  that  they  may  eat  a  whole  month.  ^  Can 
flocks  and  herds  be  slain  for  them,  to  suffice  them  ?  or  can  all  the  fish  of 
the  sea  be  gathered  together  for  them,  to  suffice  them  ?  ^  And  Yahweh 
said  unto  Moses,  Is  Yahweh's  hand  waxed  short?  now  shalt  thou  see 
whether  My  word  fall  in  with  thee  or  not.  ^  And  Moses  went  out,  and 
told  the  people  the  words  of  Yahweh.  ^^  And  there  set  forth  a  wind 
from  Yahweh,  and  brought  across  quails  from  the  sea,  and  let  them  fall  by 
the  camp,  about  a  day's  journey  on  this  side,  and  a  day's  journey  on  the 
other  side,  round  about  the  camp,  and  about  two  cubits  above  the  face 
of  the  earth.  ^-  And  the  people  rose  up  all  that  day,  and  all  the  night, 
and  all  the  next  day,  and  gathered  the  quails  ;  he  that  gathered  least 
gathered  ten  homers  ;  and  they  spread  them  all  abroad  for  themselves 
round  about  the  camp.  ^  While  the  flesh  was  yet  between  their  teeth, 
ere  it  ran  short,  the  anger  of  Yahweh  grew  hot  against  the  people,  and 
Yahweh  smote  the  people  with  a  very  great  slaughter.  **  And  the  name 
of  that  place  was  called  Kibroth-hatta'avah  (  =  "  graves  of  lust "),  for  there 
they  buried  the  people  that  lusted. 

4.  Neither  the  departure  from  Tab'erah  (v.^"^),  nor  the 
arrival  at  Kibroth-hatta'avah  is  mentioned.  Hence  some,* 
failing  to  recogfnlse  the  fragmentary  nature  of  the  stories, 
and  the  lack  of  connection  between  them,  have  inferred  that 
both  names  attached  to  a  single  place.  Cheyne  [EBi.  2660), 
on  other  grounds,  comes  to  much  the  same  conclusion, 
assuming  Kibroth-hatta'avah  to  be  a  corruption  of  Kibroth- 
tab'erah. — The  mixed  multitude\  or  rabble  (PiD£;Dsni),  who, 
according  to  Ex.  12^  (J),  where  they  are  called  by  another 
name  (HIJ?),  accompanied  the  Israelites  out  of  Egypt. — They 
fell  a  lusting]  Ps  106^*  yS^^*-.  The  vb.  and  noun  (nixn  lixnn), 
though  mainly  used  of  the  appetites,  commonly  refer  to 
perfectly  legitimate  excitement  of  the  appetite;  see,  e.g., 
Dt.  12^^  14^^. — A7id  the  children  of  Israel  again  wept]  No 
previous  weeping  (cp,  14^)  has  been  mentioned  ;  but  the  word 
need  not  be  pressed.  Previous  stories  of  complaints  are  Ex. 
1^23-25  Qj^  1^2-7  (mainly  E).  "Again"  may  refer  to  one  of 
these,  or  to  v.^~';  the  word  is  possibly,  but  not  necessarily, 
editorial. — O  that  we  had  flesh  to  eat]  Rashi  already  perceived 

•  Keil. 


XI.  4.  5  103 

a  difficulty  here  which  critical  analysis  has  not  yet  completely 
explained.  Why  should  a  people  rich  in  flocks  (Ex.  12^  17^ 
igi3  2^3^  Nu  14^  32^)  cry  out  for  flesh?  Why  should  Moses, 
in  the  midst  of  a  people  provided  with  flocks  and  herds,  feel 
the  difficulty  which  he  expresses  in  v.^^?  Clearly  the  present 
story  goes  back  to  a  cycle  which  did  not  credit  the  Israelites 
with  flocks  in  the  wilderness ;  but  whether  this  point  of  view 
was  maintained  throughout  either  E  or  J  is  doubtful ;  the 
above  references  are  not  clearly  confined  to  one  of  these  two 
main  sources  of  JE. — 5.  It  is  curious  that  though  the  people 
cry  out  for  flesh,  their  happy  memories  of  Egyptian  fare  are 
chiefly  of  the  vegetables. — The  fish  which  -we  were  wont  to  eat 
for  noi(ght\  "The  quantity  offish  in  Egypt  was  a  very  great 
boon  to  the  poor  classes.  .  .  ,  The  canals,  ponds,  and  pools 
on  the  low  lands  continued  to  abound  in  fish  even  after  the  inun- 
dation ceased."  *  Another  OT.  writer  shows  himself  familiar 
with  the  conspicuous  part  played  by  fish  and  fishermen  in 
Egyptian  life  (Is.  19^"^°).  In  later  times  fish  was  exported 
from  Egypt  to  Palestine  (Schiirer,^  ii.  57;  Eng.  tr.  11.  i.  42  f.). 
— The  cucumhers\  (□'XCj'i'p)   the  philologically  cognate   Arabic 

(*Ui)  is  the  name  of  the  long  and  slender  Cticumisxhatet  L., 

a  variety  of  the  melon  which  is  native  to  Egypt,  and  widely 
cultivated    there. — The  melons]   (cnt^ns)   water-melons   (still 

called  ;ui\Akj),  Ctictimis  citnclliis,  L.,  are  represented  on  ancient 

Egyptian  monuments,  and  much  cultivated  and  consumed  by 
the  modern  Egyptians.  They  are  frequently  mentioned  in 
the  Mishna  (Levy,  s.v.  n'tDlix),  but  here  only  in  OT. — The 
leeks]  "i^vn  ("grass")  here,  but  here  only  in  OT.,  means,  as  it 
sometimes  does  in  Aram.,  "leeks,"  and  specifically,  perhaps, 
Allium  porrum,  L.  Pliny  [HN.  19^)  refers  to  the  fame  of 
Egyptian  leeks. — The  onions]  Herod,  (ii.  125),  speaking  of 
the  pyramid,  says  that  on  it  was  declared  "how  much  was 
spent  on  radishes  and  onions  and  leeks  for  the  workmen." 

•  Wilkinson,  Pop.  Account  Oj  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  ii.  193  (see  also 
181,  186-194).  Cp.  Seetzen,  Reisen,  iii.  274-276,  497  f.  ;  and  among-  the 
classical  writers,  Herod,  ii.  92  f. 


104  NUMBERS 

Hasselquist  (p.  562),  as  cited  by  Di.,  says  "the  Egyptian 
onions  are  very  mild  and  agreeable,  better  than  in  all  other 
countries :  therefore  they  are  much  grown  in  Egypt,  and  form 
a  favourite  dish  with  all  classes,  and  a  common  diet  especially 
of  the  poorer  classes." — The  garlic\  (□''nit^)  Low  identifies  the 
Aram.  D"lt^*  with  Allium  sativu?n,  L.,  which  is  still  cultivated 
in  Egypt. 

For  further  details  and  references,  see  Ges.  Thes.,  Ges.-Buhl,  and 
BDB.  under  the  several  words  ;  the  relevant  articles  in  EBi.  and  NDB.; 
also  EBi.  col.  1541  f.  Low,  Ara?n.  Pflajisennamen,  Nos.  278,  169,  336; 
Seetzen,  Reise7i,  iii.  pp.  233  (cucumbers),  158,  209,  and  especially  350 
(melons),  158  (onions)  ;  and  Di.  on  the  present  passage. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  we  have  here  a  very  vivid  and  true 
picture  of  Egyptian  life ;  and,  in  particular,  of  the  life  of  the 
lower  orders. 

Speakingf  of  these  in  his  Modem  Egyptians  (c.  vii.),  Lane  describes 
their  food  as  consisting'  chiefly  of  "bread  (made  of  millet  or  of  maize), 
milk,  new  cheese,  eggs,  small  salted  fish,  cucumbers  and  melons,  and 
gourds  of  a  great  variety  of  kinds,  onions  and  leeks,  beans,  chick-peas, 
lupins,  the  fruit  of  the  black  egg-plant,  lentils,  etc.,  dates  (both  fresh 
and  dried),  and  pickles,"  and  remarks,  "  It  is  surprising  to  observe  how 
simple  and  poor  is  the  diet  of  the  Egyptian  peasantry,  and  yet  how 
robust  and  liealthy  most  of  them  are,  and  how  severe  is  the  labour  which 
they  can  undergo." 

Of  the  sources  of  the  Hexateuch  it  is  elsewhere  E  that  is 
particularly  characterised  by  acquaintance  with  Egyptian  life : 
cp.  Dr.  L.O.T.  118. — 6.  For  lack  of  the  succulent  foods  of 
Egypt,  the  people's  sotil  or  appetite  is  dried  tip ;  nor  have 
they  any  prospect  of  other  food  than  the  manna,  of  the  very 
sight  of  which  they  have  grown  sick.  —  Our  soul  is  dried 
?//>]  cp.  "his  soul  is  empty,"  i.e.  he  is  hungry  (Is.  29^);  **to 
satisfy  (lit.  to  fill)  his  soul,"  i.e.  to  stay  his  hunger  (Pr. 
530J .  <jjj  im.r\  given  to  appetite,"  lit.  "a  possessor  of  soul" 
(Pr.  232). 

4,  «)p^pNm]  for  f]DSDNni :  G.-K.  351^ ;  on  the  rare  noun-form,  see  Barth, 
1477. — I3np3]  singular  suffixes  or  verbs  are  found  also  in  v.^"- ^*"  "^ ;  pi. 
suffixes  or  verbs  (following  the  subj.)  in  y.^-s- 13- is-so- 2ib.22.8i.  34.  jhe 
sing,  here  after  the  D3  of  v.^,  without  an  intervening  use  of  the  noun,  may 
indicate  that  v.^  is  not  the  original  sequence  of  v.^.  Perhaps  v.'*  was 
originally  preceded  by  a  sentence  such  as  this  mnpa  jn'i  .  .  .  D  cyn  \;c-^ 


XI.  6,  7  I05 

mKnn.— 5.  c:n]  =  "  for  nothing  "  ;  Gn.  29^'  (E),  Ex.  21''  ",  and  nowhere  else 
in  Hex.— D\wp.T  nx]  Ci  S  'pn  nxi.— 6.  'nSa]  as  conj.  Gn.  43^-  ^  (J),  Is.  loH 
(BDB.  ii6b) ;  "save  that  our  eyes  are  unto  this  manna." — li'J'j;  pn  '?«]  for 
the  idiom,  cp.  Ps.  33^^34^®  123' and  the  n.  pr.  -yyi.T'?}*. 

7-9.  A  parenthetic  account  of  the  manna  and  the  modes  of 
preparing  it,  inserted  between  the  complaint  of  the  people, 
v.^,  and  the  statement  that  Moses  overheard  it,  v.^°.  Taken 
by  itself  the  present  account  does  not  suggest  that  the  manna 
was  miraculously  provided  —  the  prevalent  view  elsewhere 
(Ex.  16,  Dt.  83- 16,  Neh.  g^^-  20^  Pg.  ^823-25  105*0).  The  writer 
speaks  of  it  as  a  natural  product  of  the  desert ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  he  had  in  mind  some  of  the  *'  mannas  "  described 
by  modern  travellers  in  Sinai  and  Arabia,  such  as  the  sweet- 
tasting,  dirty-yellowish  exudation  of  the  Tamarix  gallica^  L., 
which,  exuded  by  night  during  the  season  (June  and  July), 
falls  to  the  ground  and  is  melted  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  during 
the  day;  or  the  edible  lichen  [Lecanora  esctilenta,  Everson), 
greyish  yellow  without,  white  within,  which,  in  parts  of  S.W. 
Asia,  is  used  instead  of  corn  in  years  of  famine.*  Certainly 
no  natural  mannas  are  produced  in  sufficient  quantities  to 
support  the  multitudes  contemplated  in  the  narrative.  But 
if  the  manna  in  this  story  is  rightly  interpreted  as  a  natural, 
in  Ex.  16  as  a  supernatural,  food,  we  have  parallels  for  the 
difference  in  the  story  of  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  which,  in 
one  account,  was  rendered  possible  by  the  natural  action  of 
wind  (Ex.  142^^  J),  in  others  by  the  miraculous  influence  of 
Moses'  rod  (Ex.  i^^-  ^i  E)  or  hand  (Ex.  1416^-  is.  w.  22b.  23  p) . 
and  in  the  staying  of  the  people's  thirst  by  natural  wells  to 
which  they  were  led  according  to  one  account  (Ex.  15^'^  J), 
by  water  brought  miraculously  from  a  rock  according  to 
others  (Ex.  1^1^.2,4-7  g.  jsj^  20'^'-  P). — 7.  Like  coriander  seed] 
Ex.  i63i. — Bdellium\  it  is  probable  that  the  Hebrew  npna 
(Gn.  2^2  t)  is  rightly  rendered  thus.  Bdellium  is  a  resinous 
substance,  transparent,  gelatinous,  and  commonly  yellowish 
in  colour.  In  Ex.  iG^^  manna  is  said  to  be  white ;  and 
Josephus,  though  he  also  retains  the  comparison  with  bdel- 

*  The  above  details  are  taken  from  EBi.  "  Manna."  See,  further,  the 
Commentaries  on  Ex.  16,  especially  Di.  (176  f.). 


106  NUMBERS 

Hum,  exag-gerates  this,  saying-  the  people  would  have  mis- 
taken the  manna  for  snow  had  not  Moses  warned  them  it 
was  food  {AnL  iii.  i^).  Both  the  biblical  descriptions  of  the 
colour  are  justified  by  one  or  other  of  the  modern  "  mannas" 
referred  to  above. — 8.  Arid  they  nsed  to  grind  it  between  the 
mill-stones  or  pound  it  in  a  mortar^  the  exuded  juice  of  the 
tamarisk  is  never  hard  enoug-h  for  such  treatment.  Seetzen 
{Reise?i,  iii.  78)  sugg^ests  that  the  Hebrew  description  is  drawn 
partly  from  this,  partly  from  the  very  nutritious  gum  of  the 
Mimosa  nilotica,  L.,  which  is  exuded  at  the  same  time  of  year 
and  is  found  in  the  same  places. — Attd  boil  it]  Ex.  16-^. — And 
make  it  into  cakes]  the  process  is  differently  expressed  in  Ex. 
16-^  (bake) ;  cakes  (nuy)  are  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the  Hexa- 
teuch  only  in  Gn.  iS",  Ex.  12^^  (J). — Its  taste  was  like  that  of 
a  dainty  prepared  ivith  oil]  the  precise  meaning  of  the  phrase 
is  not  quite  certain :  see  phil.  n.  Seetzen  [Rcisen,  iii.  76) 
records  that  at  St.  Catherine's  convent  the  "manna"  was 
used  as  "a  dainty  instead  of  honey."  In  Ex  16^^  the  taste  is 
compared  to  wafers  made  with  honey. — 9.  The  coming  of  the 
manna  by  night  is  similarly  described,  though  in  very  different 
words,  in  Ex.  i6^^'-. — 10.  Resumes  v.*~^.  The  whole  v.  in 
its  present  connection  must  mean  that  Yahweh  was  angry 
(cp.  v.^*^^)  with  the  people,  and  that  His  anger  displeased 
Moses,  who  expresses  his  displeasure  in  v.^"'.  But  Yahweh' s 
anger,  v.^*''',  is  not  the  natural  sequel  to  Moses^  overhearing 
the  people's  weeping,  v.^°*;  v."'*  appears  to  have  found  its 
way  into  the  present  story  from  a  very  different  context  (see 
below).  Possibly  the  clause,  "and  Yahweh  was  angry," 
has  moved  to  its  present  position  from  after  v.^  (Di-)  or  v.^^ 
(Bacon),  and  so  caused  some  change  in  the  last  clause. 

7.  Vll]  G.-K.  93/^.  —  py]  =  "appearance";  cp.  Lev.  13^'.  —  nSia]  the 
rendering  bdellium  rested  till  recently  on  Josephus  and  the  later  Greek 
VV.  (cp.  Field's  Hexapla  on  Gn.  2^-  and  Nu.  1 1'),  but  Pelser  has  now 
adduced  evidence  from  Babylonian  contract  tablets  in  favour  of  such  an 
interpretation :  a  word  meaning  "  spicery "  is  probably  to  be  trans- 
literated bid-H-{  =  n'?i3;  ZATW.,  1897,  P-  347  f-— 8-  i^pVi  .  .  .  icb-]  Dr. 
Tenses,  114a. — n?'^]  cp.  '^;f'^  apparently  =  "  my  sap  or  life-juice,"  Ps  32'*. 

iAa*»!,  which  appears  to   be  but   rarely  used,  is  "to  suck."     The  word, 
therefore,  remains  of  somewhat  uncertain  and  obscure  meaning-.     VV. 


XL  8-II  107 

give  the  whole  phrase  a  meanhig-  similar  to  that  sug-g-ested  above,  e.g. 
(Ec  ivvKph  i^  eXalov,  ~S  pntiis  oleatiis.  On  Aq.  and  Symm.,  see  Field, 
Hexapla,  i.  237.  — 10.  rnnsra'?]  the  frequent  use  of  this  phrase  (yet  not 
with  the  sing,  suffix)  is  characteristic  of  P.  Either  this  is  an  isolated  use 
in  an  earlier  writer  (cp.  Dr.  L.O.T.  132),  or  redactorial  (cp.  Kue.  Hex. 
323) 

11-15.  Moses  expostulates  with  Yahweh. — In  v.^^  Moses  is 
asking-  how  he  is  to  satisfy  the  people's  cry  for  bread,  and  the 
answer  is  given  in  v.^^^-.  But  the  connection  of  v.^^^-  ^•*^-  with 
the  context  is  very  imperfect.  In  these  vv.  Moses  complains 
to  Yahweh  that  he  cannot  unaided  lead  the  people  to  Canaan, 
that  he  would  rather  die  than  make  the  attempt,  and  that, 
since  Israel  owes  its  existence  to  Yahweh,  it  is  on  Him  and 
not  on  His  servant  that  the  burden  should  rest.  All  this  has 
nothing"  to  do  with  the  story  of  the  quails,  nor  probably  with 
the  temporary  effect  of  the  spirit  on  the  seventy  elders,  thoug-h 
at  present  these  elders  are  represented  in  v.^'^^  as  appointed  to 
share  the  burden  with  Moses.  On  the  other  hand,  the  verses 
in  question  (v.^^^-  ^'^^•)  fall  excellently  into  place  after  Ex.  23^"^ 
where  Yahweh  bids  Moses  lead  the  people  to  Canaan,  but 
refuses  Himself  to  g^o  with  them.  They  appear  to  have  been 
transferred  here  by  the  editor  who  united  the  stories  of  the 
quails  and  the  elders.* 

11.  Moses  expostulates  with  Yahweh  for  placing  on  him  the 
whole  trouble  and  burden  of  the  people  (Ex.  33^'^). —  Wherefore 
hast  Thou  evil entreated.^]why  hast  Thou  injured  me,  or  made  my 
lot  so  hard?  (cp.  Gn.  19^43^).     The  verb  [V^T])  is  the  antithesis 
(cp.  Jos.  242")  of  2''Wn  =  "to  be  a  source  of  good  fortune  to" 
(10-^  n.);    for  another  instance  with  Yahweh   as  subj.,   see 
Ex.    5^2.  —  Thy  servant]    this    periphrasis    for    the   personal 
pronoun  is  specially  characteristic  of  J  ;  see,  e.g:,  Gn.    i8^-  ^ 
cp.  CH.  73. —  W7iy  have  I  not  found  favoiir  in  Thy  sight]  v.^^ 
this  phrase  (''3''J?2  \n  NVO)  is  also  characteristic  of  J  (CH.  31) 
see,  e.g.,  Gn.  6^  iS^  and,  in  what  appears  to  have  been  the 
original  context  of  the  present  passage,  Ex.  33^^-  ^^-  ^^. — The 

*  So  Bacon,  to  whose  discussions  {JBLit.  xil.  38-40,  45  f.  ;  Triple 
Tradition,  139-150,  168)  reference  must  be  made  for  further  arguments, 
and  in  whose  translation  (p.  299)  the  vv.  will  be  found  in  what  is  pre- 
sumably their  original  context. 


I08  NUMBERS 

burden  of  all  this  people\  the  task  of  leading"  the  people  unaided 
to  Canaan  (v.^^"^)  had  been  imposed  by  Yahweh  on  Moses 
(Ex.  33^"^),  but  after  this  expostulation  Yahweh  promises  that 
His  "  Face"  shall  accompany  Moses  (Ex.  33^^"-^^). — 12.  Have  I 
conceived^  etc.]  the  pronoun  is  emphatic;  Yahweh,  not  Moses, 
brought  Israel  into  being.  Israel  is,  therefore,  Yahweh's 
people  (Ex.  33^^).  Here,  as  in  Ex.  422*-,  Dt.  32^^,  Hos.  11^, 
and,  very  probably,  in  Ps.  2'^,  the  whole  nation  is  regarded  as 
Yahweh's  son. — Carry  it  in  thy  bosom]  cp.  Is.  40^'-  and,  with 
a  different  word,  49^^.  —  A  mirsing-father\  the  nursing-  or 
foster-parent  played  an  important  part  in  the  wealthier  Hebrew 
families  (2  K.  lo^-^  where  RV.  renders  D''3ttNn  by  "they  that 
brought  up").  They  are  mentioned  in  another  figurative 
passage.  Is.  49^^.  If,  as  some  *  think,  the  nurse  rather  than 
the  foster-father  should  be  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  '*  suckling,"  it  is  easy  to  read  here  J^^.^^-^  (cp.  Ru.  4^^, 
2  S.  4^).  —  Unto  the  land  which  Thou  swearest,  etc.]  Moses 
takes  up  Yahweh's  words  in  Ex.  33^;  the  words  for  "land" 
in  the  two  passages  are,  however,  different  (here  ilDTN,  there 
px). — 13.  Whence  is  Moses  to  obtain  flesh  to  satisfy  the 
people's  cry  ?  The  verse  continues,  though  not  quite  immedi- 
ately, v.^*'.  An  introductory  clause  at  least  has  been  sup- 
pressed in  favour  of  v.^^- ;  and  the  immediate  continuation  of 
v,^^  has  given  place  to  v.^^~^^.  The  answer  of  Yahweh  to  the 
question  of  Moses  in  v.^*  stands  in  v.^^;  it  was,  perhaps, 
originally  preceded  by  a  statement  of  Yahweh's  anger  at 
Moses'  report  about  the  people  which  has  now  been  shifted 
further  back  to  v.^**^. — For  they  trouble  me  "with  their  "weeping] 
b^  n32,  as  Jud.  1 4^^'*. — Give  us  fleshy  that  we  way  eat]  \:b  nn 
nbx3i  iK^n;  cp.  Ex.  172  (E)  nnK'2"i  d^»  ):b  (G  mn)  i3n.— 14. 
The  v.  is  the  immediate  sequel,  not  to  v.^^  which  it  disregards, 
but  to  v.^*. — /  cannot  by  myself  carry]  (nXD'i'  .  .  .  731S  N^) 
Moses'  reply  to  Yahweh's  command  (Ex.  33-^"^),  which  has 
been  paraphrased  by  Moses  in  the  words  (v. ^2),  "Carry  it 
(insc)  in  thy  bosom."  The  people  are  too  heavy  for  Moses. 
The  different  renderings  in  RV.  of  the  same  verb  (Nt^J)  in  v.^^ 
and  v.^*  obscure  the  original  connection,  though  they  may  do 
•  Nowack,  Arch.  i.  171  f.;  Kon.  xii.  299A. 


XL  12-16  109 

justice  to  the  editor's  meaning-:  cp.  v.^'^^  n. — 15.  Ra\ier  let 
Yahweh,  if  He  has  any  regard  for  Moses,  kill  him  and  have 
done  with  it  (31"in  ''JJin,  Dav.  67c),  than  insist  on  his  carrying 
the  people  alone;  for  similar  requests  for  death,  see  Ex  32^^^ 
I  K  19*,  Jon.  4^,  Job  3. — Let  vie  not  look  upon  my  wretched?iess\ 
let  me  not  continue  to  experience  the  unendurable  toil  and 
trouble  of  what  in  such  a  case  must  be  my  hard  lot  (ny"i: 
cp.  J?"in  V."  n.).  3  nxi,  which  expresses  far  more  than  the 
simple  "see"  of  RV.  (cp.  la^n.),  is  used  somewhat  similarly 
in  Gn.  21^^  44^*. — The  terms  of  Yahweh's  reply  can  be  gathered 
from  Ex.  33^"^,  where  Yahweh  assures  Moses  that  he  has 
found  favour,  and  shall  not  carry  the  people  alone  ;  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  argument  is  to  be  found  in  Ex.  33^^"^^. 

11.  «nso]  =  ''nN!£D;  G.-K.  74^.— nyn  ^2  nb-d]  <&  and  some  MSS.  of  ?Q  om. 
!?3;  S  oyn  NCD  Va.— 12.  nin]  Peculiar  to  JE  in  the  Hex.  and  specially 
characteristic  of  J  ;  CH.  21  (J  22  times  ;  E  4  times). — in'm^;]  For  the 
punctuation,  see  G.-K.  69s. — 14.  ffi  omits  h^  and  paraphrases  the  last 
clause  wrongly  under  the  influence  of  Ex.  18^^. — 15.  inx]  so  Dt  5^*  (^*, 
Ezek.  28^''.  Masc.  forms  have  also  survived  from  the  earlier  consonantal 
text  elsewhere  {e.g.  1  S.  24'^),  but  have  then  been  correctly  pointed  rx. 
Cp.  BDB.  61b  ;  Kon.  iii.  8. 

16;  17a.  Yahweh  promises  a  portion  of  the  Spirit  to  seventy 
elders  (E). — These  vv.  are  separated  from  their  immediate 
sequel,  v.^^'^"^*';  in  E  they  may  have  followed  immediately 
on  Ex.  33'^'"-^^,  and  the  whole  story  may  have  immediately 
preceded  that  now  found  below  in  c.  12;  cp.  p.  98,  above. 
In  any  case,  the  connection  with  v.^^~^^  is  very  loose  in  spite 
of  v."^  On  the  relation  of  the  story  to  certain  kindred 
narratives  in  Ex.  18  and  24,  and  on  its  general  significance 
and  motive,  see  small  print  n.  following  v.^^. 

16.  Moses  is  to  assemble  seventy  men  selected  from  the 
whole  number  of  the  elders  of  Israel  at  the  tent  of  meeting. 
As  in  a  parallel  story  (Ex.  24^  (-^-  ^^-  ^^^^),  the  manner  and  ground 
of  selection  are  not  stated. — The  elders  of  Israel]  the  elders 
are  the  leading  men  of  the  various  families  (cp.  Ex.  12^^*-). 
They  are  very  frequently  referred  to  in  early  narratives  {e.g. 
1  S.  4^  8*,  2  S.  17^'^),  including  the  prophetic  narratives  of  the 
Hexateuch  (CH.  15 1'^  42°). 

In  P  they  are  rarely  mentioned  (Lev.  41^  9*,  Jos.  20^t) ;  in  that  source 


no  NUMBERS 

the  phrase  is  generally  replaced  by  another — "the  princes  of  the  congre 
gation  of  Israel"  (or  the  like — CH.  131').  Benzinger's  statement  {PRE.^ 
i.  224),  that  in  the  narrative  of  the  march  through  the  wilderness  they  are 
mentioned  only  in  E  and  D,  and  never  in  J,  is  not  justified  by  assured 
analytical  results.  On  the  general  subject  of  the  "elders,"  see  Nowack, 
Arch.  i.  pp.  300 ff.,  320  ff.;  Benzinger,  Arch.  §  41-43,  or  Aelteste  in  PRE?. 
For  "  collecting"  (*)d«)  or  "  summoning"  (^  Knp)  the  elders,  see  Ex,  3^*'  4^^^ 
12^^  19'',  Jos.  24*. 

Wliom  thou  knowest  to  be  ,  ,  ,  officers^  To  judge  from  the 
analogy  of  the  sheikhs  of  the  modern  Bedawin,  the  elders  of 
the  nomadic  Hebrews  were,  as  occasion  required,  leaders  in 
war,  ready  with  counsel,  or  arbitrators  in  disputes.  The 
division  of  labour  whereby  some  elders  became  judges,  others 
military  leaders,  and  others  "officers,"  apparently  belongs  to 
the  more  complex  conditions  of  settled  life;  and  it  may  be 
only  by  an  anachronism  that  it  is  here  referred  to  the  nomadic 
period  of  Hebrew  history :  cp.  Nowack  or  Benzinger  as  just 
cited.  What  precisely  is  covered  by  the  term  "  officers  "  (D^IDC) 
is  uncertain;  etymologically  it  seems  to  mean  "arranger"  or 
"organiser"  (Dr.  Dent.  p.  17);  in  Ex.  5  (JE)  the  persons  so 
called  are  overseers,  persons  who  have  to  see  that  the  full 
task  of  work  is  performed  ;  in  some  later  passages  they  carry 
orders  to  the  people  (Jos.  i^°  3^,  Dt.  20^- ^^•).  In  several 
Deuteronomic  passages  the  term  is  used  with  several  others 
("elders,"  "heads,"  "judges"),  the  whole  combination  being 
apparently  intended  to  exhaust  the  idea  of  leaders  of  the 
people.  But  whatever  its  precise  significance,  its  presence 
here  implies  some  already  existing  organisation  of  assistants 
to  Moses  in  the  government  of  the  people.  The  institution  of 
such  assistants  had  been  previously  mentioned  in  the  same 
source,  if  we  are  right  in  attributing  the  present  story  to  E 
(see  Ex.  18). — 17a.  And  I  will  come  down  and  speak  with  thee] 
i.e.  will  communicate  with  you  in  the  manner  described  as 
customary  in  Ex.  33^-  ^^  (E). — And  I  will  withdraw  some  of  the 
spirit  that  is  now  upon  thee^  and  put  it  upon  them]  the  spirit 
(nnn)  is  conceived  materially*  and,  as  in  2  K.  2^^-,  quantita- 
tively. As  in  24^,  Jud.  3^*^  11^^,  i  S.  10*'  19^°,  Is.  ii^  6i\ 
Ezek.  1 1^,  it  is  thought  of  as  coming  or  resting  upon  (i^j;)  a 
*  Cp.  Koberle,  Natur  u.  Geist  nach  der  Aiiffassting  dcs  AT,  184-1SG. 


XI.  17  III 

person.  RIoses  possesses  the  spirit  in  large  measure,  so  that 
he  can  spare  enough  to  enable  seventy  others  to  prophesy  for 
the  nonce,  v.^'-.  One  purpose  of  the  narrative,  common  also 
to  Ex.  33^"^^  and  c.  12  below,  appears  to  be  to  enhance  the 
superiority  of  Moses  in  virtue  of  his  close  relation  to  Yahweh. 
— 17b.  A?id  they  shall  assist  thee  in  beating  the  burden  of  the 
people^  that  thou  bear  it  not  alone\  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that 
this  clause  does  not  presuppose  and  refer  to  v.^^"^^  and  yet 
the  answer  is  only  verbal  and  superficial.  The  point  of  Moses' 
argument  in  those  vv.  is  that  Yahweh  Himself  ought  to  bear 
at  least  part  of  the  burden  ;  this  comes  out  most  clearly  when 
yiu.  i4f.  3f.g  placed  between  Ex.  33-^"^  and  12-16^  y^^^  jg  sufficiently 
clear  from  v.^  alone.  So  when  Moses  in  v.^*  says  I  cannot 
bear  this  people  alone,  he  means  he  cannot  bear  it  without 
Yahweh's  help.  To  this  v.^^^,  with  its  promise  that  Moses 
shall  receive  human  assistance,  is  no  genuine  reply.  The 
case  is,  of  course,  entirely  different  in  Dt.  i*"^^  (cp.  Ex.  18), 
where  Moses  calls  on  thQ  people  to  give  him  assistance,  since, 
on  account  of  their  increasing  numbers,  he  Is  no  longer  able  to 
bear  the  burden  of  them  alone.  Further,  though  v.^^-^* 
mentions  point  by  point  how  the  commands  and  promises  of 
yio.  i7a  'vvere  carried  out  and  fulfilled,  no  further  notice  is  taken 
of  any  assistance  rendered  to  Moses  ;  quite  the  reverse ;  v.-^^ 
gives  the  actual  result  of  the  spirit  resting  on  the  elders : 
and  this  result  was  that  the  elders  received  not  the  power 
of  assisting  Moses,  but  of  prophesying.  On  both  these 
grounds  certainly,  possibly  also  on  the  ground  of  the  clause 
"whom  .  .  .  thou  knowest  to  be  officers"  (v.^^  n.),  we 
may  judge  v.^^^  to  be  an  editorial  clause  designed  to  connect 
the  three  originally  distinct  elements  brought  together  in 
this  chapter.  To  the  editor  the  "burden"  in  v.^''^^  meant 
the  same  as  in  v.^^"^^,  the  task  more  especially  of  providing 
the  people  with  flesh.  The  connection  with  Ex.  iS-^  is 
merely  verbal,  and  if  v.^^''  be  admitted  to  be  editorial, 
it  accounts  for  the  difficulty  which  commentators  have  felt 
(without  surmounting)  in  attempting  to  decide  the  diflference 
between  the  functions  of  these  elders  and  those  appointed 
in  Ex.  iS. 


112  NUMBERS 

16.  nsoK]  G.-K.  48/,— 'Jj-D  c'x  c'niv]  so  v.'*  (cp.  v.^'  n.)  ;  ct.  'jpn  D'yas' 
Ex.  24'' '. — las'nni]  3i"nn  17  times  in  Hex.;  13JE,  4  D  ;  see  CH.  214^^^. — 17. 
-n'^sxi]  the  vb.  is  rare  (v.^,  Gn.  27^^,  Ezek.  42",  Eccl.  2'"!),  and  in  each  case 
the  context  requires  a  slightly  different  sense  :  the  nearest  parallel  to  the 
present  meaning  is  Ezek.  42^;  cp.  BDB.  S  reads  h)in  and  in  v.-^  "ran ;  G 
perhaps  supports  S  here  (d^eXw ;  cp.  d(paipe'iv  =  h-'^n  Gn.  31^* '®,  Hos.  2'^); 
but  the  variant  is  scarcely  right ;  the  sense  of  't'i.'.t  is  too  violent. — 2  ixcji] 
"they  shall  bear  in,  i,e.  take  part  in  bearing"  :  so  Ezek.  18^";  see  BDB. 
883  ;  Kon.  iii.  84. 

18.  Cp.  v.^^-  *.  The  story  of  the  lust  for  flesh  is  resumed. 
In  answer  to  Moses'  incredulous  question,  v.^^,  Yahweh 
promises  that  He  will  Himself  provide  the  people  with  flesh. 
The  opening-  words  of  this  verse  may  have  been  modified 
from  some  such  introductory  formula  as  is  found  in  Ex.  7^^ 
8^  9^  and  a  connecting  link  between  v.^^  and  v.^^  has  probably 
been  suppressed  by  the  editor  in  favour  of  v.^*~^^. — Sanctify 
yourselves]  make  yourselves  ceremonially  clean  by  ablutions 
and  abstention  from  women  (Ex.  19^°-  ^^),  that  ye  may  be  fit 
to  witness  the  special  manifestation  of  Yahweh's  power  in  the 
coming  miraculous  provision  of  flesh  :  cp.  especially  Jos.  3^  ; 
also  Ex.  igiof. i4ff. 22^  Jqs  ^is^allJE).  Rashi  explains:  prepare 
yourselves  for  destruction;  cp.  Jer.  12^. — Against  to-morrow] 
a  term  frequently  set  (especially  in  J)  for  the  fulfilment  of  a 
divine  promise  or  command — Ex.  8^-  ^^-  ^5  do.  23. 29)  ^6.  is  jq4^ 
Nu.  1425,  Jos.  35  713  (all  JE);  Jud.  2o28,  i  S.  9^6;  somewhat 
differently  i6^-^^,  Ex.  16^^  (P).  The  fulfilment  on  the  morrow 
(mnDD)  is  sometimes  recorded — 1723(8)  (pj^  g^.  9^  (J).  Ct. 
"  the  third  day,"  Ex.  19^^  (E). — //  was  well  with  tis  in  Egypt] 
("1:^210):  cp.  14^  Ex.  14^2, — 19  f.  But  though  Yahweh  promises 
to  satisfy  the  people  with  flesh,  He  also  warns  them  that  as  a 
punishment  for  their  impious  discontent  they  will  be  kept  to 
the  flesh  diet  till  it  becomes  nauseous  to  them. — 20.  U7itil  it 
come  out  from  your  nostril]  this  may  refer  to  violent  vomiting, 
or  to  the  rejection  of  the  smell  of  the  flesh  as  repugnant,  or  to 
the  repeated  taste  of  food  that  has  disagreed. — 21  f.  Moses 
doubts  even  Yahweh's  power  to  provide  sufficient  food  for 
such  a  multitude. — 21.  Six  hundred  thousand]  Ex.  12"'^:  cp. 
p.  14,  above. — And  yet  Thou  hast  said]  the  use  and  position  o^^ 
the  pr.  (nriN)  gives  the  sentence  an  adversative  force  not  brought 


XI.  i8-2S  113 

out  In  RV. — 23.  Yahweh  challenges  Moses' incredulity :  cp. 
Gn.  18^^  (J). — The  paragraph  division  of  RV.  is  wrong ;  v.^^-  ^^^ 
closely  connect  with  v.^^;  the  new  paragraph  should  begin 
with  v.^*''  ("and  he  gathered"). — Is  Vahweh's  hand  short  ?\  is 
His  power  small  ?  cp.  Is.  50^  59^  and  similar  phrases  with  refer- 
ence to  men  in  6^^  (n.),  Is,  372^.  The  opposite  idea  of  might 
is  expressed  by  the  "outstretched  arm";  e.g.  Dt.  4^*. — Now 
shall  thott  see  whelher  My  word  fall  in  with  thee  or  7iot]  a  divine 
word  was  thought  to  possess  a  certain  real  and  independent 
existence ;  once  uttered,  it  pursued  its  own  course  (Is.  55^^) : 
cp.  the  power  attributed  to  spoken  words  of  men  (30^  n.). 

18.  noun  oyn  Vni]  S  =  Djjn  hit  nrn  noxv. — 20.  D'D'  a-m]  Gn.  29"!  (J) :  cp.  ht 
D'D*  Dt.  21",  and  see  BDB.  s.v.  DV  6b, — .sni]  a  copyist's  error  for  .tii  (S), 
or  a  gloss  of  a  scribe  familiar  with  Aramaic  (cp.  G.-K.  8oh).  The  word 
is  found  in  Sir.  39^^  mrg.j  but  nowhere  else  in  OT.     It  seems  to  come 

from  ^yin  =  ^\i^=fastidivit,  though  Aq.  etj  aXkoTpiuaiv  assumes  iii  = 
.\ ;.     Most  of  the  VV.  translate  by  a  word  denoting  sickness  or  the  like. — 

22.  ipai  jxs]  ace.  with  the  pass.;  see  next  clause;  Dav.  79,  81,  R.  3; 
G.-K.  i2iab.—urh  NiiOi]  Jud.  21^'*  and  (in  Niphal)  Jos,  17^^  Zech.  10^". 

24b,  25.  Yahweh  places  the  Spirit  on  the  seventy  elders,  and 
they  prophesy. — V.^^-  ^^*  is  here  continued ;  the  directions  and 
promises  there  given  are  carried  out  and  fulfilled.  —  And 
Yahweh  came  down  in  the  clond]  to  the  tent  where  Moses  and 
the  elders  were  standing,  v.^^^:  cp.  12^  Ex.  33®"^^  (E).  In  E 
the  appearance  of  this  theophanic  cloud  (pyn,  so  also  1 2^° ; 
py(n)  nioy  12^  Ex.  33®'-,  Dt.  31^^)  is  intermittent;  in  P  con- 
tinuous after  the  completion  of  the  tabernacle.  In  both  E 
and  P,  as  distinguished  from  J,  it  is  regularly  associated  with 
the  tabernacle ;  see  Pillar  of  Cloud  in  EBi. — They  prophesied^ 
but  they  did  so  no  more]  the  effect  of  the  spirit  resting  on  the 
elders  was  that  they  fell  into  prophetic  frenzy,  just  as  the 
messengers  of  Saul,  and  ultimately  Saul  himself,  were  over- 
powered by  the  spirit  and  made,  even  against  their  will,  to 
prophesy,  i  S.  1920-21  io^<*-i3;  but  the  elders  are  only  affected 
by  this  form  of  religious  excitement  on  the  present  occasion, 
nor  does  the  narrative  (ct.  v.^'^^)  relate  that  their  reception  of 
the  spirit  had  any  permanent  effect  on  them ;  it  simply  relates 
that  they  returned  with  Moses  to  the  camp,  v.^*'. 
8 


114  NUMBERS 

26-29.  Eldad  and  Medad.— The  spirit  also  rests  on  Eldad 
and  Medad,  who  had  been  left  in  the  camp  when  Moses  and 
the  elders  went  out  to  the  tent,  and  they  fall  into  the  same 
prophetic  frenzy.  Nothing  further  is  known  of  Eldad  and 
Medad  (or,  as  ffir  S  perhaps  rightly  have  it,  Modad),  nor  does 
the  latter  name  recur,  though  it  seems  identical  with  Miidadi, 
which  appears  on  ancient  Babylonian  contract  tablets.*  Eldad, 
a  name  of  early  type  {HPN.  6i,  192  n.  i),  reappears  under 
the  form  Elidad  in  34^^.  The  assonance  of  the  names  may  be 
paralleled  by  Jabal  and  Jubal  (Gn.  4-°^),  Gog  and  Magog 
(which  in  Arabic  (Koran,  21^^)  become  Yajuj  and  Majuj),  Harfit 
and  Marut  (Koran,  2^'').  A  pseudo-epigraphon,  purporting  to 
be  a  prophecy  of  Eldad  and  Medad,  is  cited  in  the  Shepherd  of 
Hennas^  Vis.  ii. — Now  they  were  among  them  that  were  regis- 
tered] this  is  generally  understood  to  mean  that  Eldad  and 
Medad  were  two  of  the  seventy  elders.  But  if  the  interpreta- 
tion be  correct,  the  clause  seems  in  several  respects  at  variance 
with  the  rest  of  the  passage.  Not  only  is  nothing  said  of  any 
registering  of  the  seventy  elders  in  v.^^^-  2^'-,  but  v.^*^  asserts 
that  the  seventy  actually  went  out  to  the  tent,  and  v.^^  (present 
text)  directly  states  that  seventy  there  received  the  spirit. 
Further,  Moses'  rebuke  of  Joshua,  v.^^,  implies  that  Eldad 
and  Medad  did  not  belong  to  the  number  who  had  been 
promised  the  spirit.  If  the  clause  be  original  and  not  rather 
the  note  of  a  glossator  [EBi.  1256),  it  would  be  better  to 
understand  by  "the  registered  "  the  whole  body  of  elders  from 
whom  the  seventy  were  chosen,  v.^^.  The  references  to  the 
registration  or  enrolment  of  persons  are  chiefly  late— Neh. 
12-^,  I  Ch.  4*1  24*^;  cp.  Jer.  22^°  and,  figuratively,  Ex.  32^^ 
Is.  43,  Mai.  3IS,  Ps.  6929(23)^  Dn.  12^  Enoch  47^  (see  Charles' 
note  for  later  allusions) ;  but  it  would  be  unreasonable  to 
deny  that  the  practice  of  registration  may  have  extended 
back  to  the  8th  or  gth  century,  and  that  the  original  story 
here  may  have  alluded  to  it.  The  mere  linguistic  evidence 
therefore  does  not  prove  the  clause  to  be  a  late  gloss. — And 
they  had  not  gone  out  to  the  tent]  Even  more  clearly  than  the 
opening  clause  of  the  v.,  this  Implies  that  the  tent  was  outside 
*  Hommel,  AUisraelitische  Ueberliefemng;  75,  112  (Eng-.  tr.  76,  113). 


XI.  26-29  I  I  5 

the  camp ;  such,  too,  is  the  implication  of  v.^''  and  v.^''  (cp. 
12^'^^-).  The  whole  passage  is  thus  connected  with  Ex.  33^"-^^ 
(E) ;  ct.  the  entirely  different  point  of  view  of  P,  who,  possibly 
following-  J  (14*^  n.),  makes  the  tent  the  centre  of  the  camp 
(p.  16  ff.). — 27.  A  young  man  brings  Moses  the  news  of  the 
sudden  outbreak  of  prophetic  frenzy  in  Eldad  and  Medad  ; 
the  bystanders  were  also  astonished  when  Saul  w^as  similarly 
affected,  i  S.  lo^"-. — 28.  Joshua  begs  Moses  to  stop  them 
prophesying.  He  is  jealous  (v.^^)  lest  Moses  should  lose  his 
pre-eminence  if  not  only  the  seventy  but  others  also  manifest 
the  spirit,  and  that,  too,  without  appearing,  like  the  seventy, 
to  receive  only  the  overplus  of  the  spirit  which  had  rested  on 
Moses,  v.^.  — Joshua  the  servant  of  Moses]  Ex.  24^^  33^^) 
Jos.  i^,  cp.  Ex.  32^'^ — probably  all  E.  The  presence  of  Joshua 
at  the  tent,  though  he  was  not  one  of  the  elders,  needed  no  ex- 
planation if,  as  is  probable  (see  above,  p.  98),  in  the  original 
source  Ex.  33^^^  immediately  preceded  the  present  story. — 
From  his  youth  up\  or  since  he  was  a  young  man',  cp.  11113  in 
I  S.  9^.  Others  render  the  phrase  **  one  of  his  young  men," 
see  phil.  n. — 29.  Moses  replies.  Are  you  so  deeply  concerned 
to  maintain  my  rights  and  honour  (5<3p:  cp.  25^^-^^,  2  S.  21^, 
I  K.  I9^*'-  ^*)  that  you  would  have  the  number  of  the  recipients 
of  Yahweh's  spirit  limited?  Nay,  rather  would  that  all 
Yahweh's  people,  elders  or  not,  without  the  camp  or  within, 
might  receive  and  manifest  it.  Moses  has  more  at  heart  the 
good  of  the  community  as  a  whole  than  his  own  personal 
honour  or  continued  pre-eminence ;  whatever  obscurity  rests 
on  the  interpretation  of  certain  details  of  the  story,  this  fine 
trait  in  Moses'  character  as  conceived  in  early  Israel  stands 
out  clearly. — The  whole  episode  is  an  important  illustration  of 
the  belief  that  Yahweh  did  not  confine  His  gifts  to  particular 
persons  or  classes.  In  itself,  it  is  true,  the  value  set  on  the 
prophetic  frenzy  does  not  reveal  a  very  advanced  religious 
perception  (ct.  i  Cor.  12-14).  But  the  belief  in  the  free  range 
of  the  spirit,  in  the  possibility  of  all  men,  irrespective  of  class 
or  place,  coming  under  its  influence  and  so  into  close  relation 
with  God,  is  one  of  abiding  value,  and  what  it  was  capable  of 
becoming  may  be  seen  in  Jeremiah's  great  prophecy  (31^2'-: 

'A 


I  1 6  NUMBERS 

cp.  Ezek.  11^^'-).  At  the  same  time  the  present  passage  and 
Jeremiah's  prophecy,  so  far  from  showing  entirely  the  same 
standpoint,  and  needing  on  that  ground  to  be  regarded  as  ot 
the  same,  or  nearly  the  same,  age,*  are  strikingly  different. 
In  thought,  at  least,  Jeremiah  is  far  in  advance.  For  there  is 
here  no  idea  of  that  deep  spiritual  communion  of  man  with 
God  of  which  Jeremiah  is  thinking  when  he  speaks  of  "  the 
law  in  the  inward  parts"  and  of  "the  knowledge  of  God"; 
nor  even  of  that  direct  speech  of  Yahweh  which  was  granted 
to  Moses  (Ex.  33^^),  but  simply  of  that  prophetic  frenzy 
described  in  the  narratives  of  Samuel,  and  represented  there 
also  as  descending  on  men  without  regard  to  class  or  family ; 
cp.  especially  the  proverbial  question  with  regard  to  persons 
who  fell  under  the  prophetic  impulse — "And  who  is  their 
father"  (i  S.  10^^). — 30.  Moses  and  the  elders  return  from 
the  tent  into  the  camp:  cp.  v.^^  n. 

The  relation  of  the  foregoing'  story  of  the  seventy  elders  to  Ex.  18  and 
24^"^^  has  been  much  discussed.  If  it  be  admitted  that,  as  argued  above, 
v.^'^  is  editorial  and  not  an  original  part  of  the  story,  then  Ex.  18  and 
Nu.  I ii6- na. 24b-30  ^re  not  parallel  accounts  of  the  same  incident;  their 
motives  are  entirely  different,  and  they  may  well  have  been  successive 
incidents  in  the  same  source.  Thus  the  fact  that  Ex.  18  is  E  is  no 
reason  for  denying  that  the  present  story  is  from  the  same  source.  On 
the  other  hand,  Nu.  ijis.  i7a.  24b-30  ^jjd  Ex.  24^'"  do  so  far  resemble  one 
another  that  both  are  stories  of  seventy  elders  specially  privileged  ;  they 
may  therefore  represent  variations  from  a  common  story  whence  come  the 
rare  vb.  "j^x  of  Nu.  and  the  unique  S'SK  (="  nobles  ")  in  Ex.  24^^.  At  the 
same  time  they  are  sufficiently  unlike  to  have  been  included  in  the  same 
(literary)  source  from  the  first,  and  it  is  best  to  consider  their  literary 
origin  independently.  The  reference  of  the  story  of  the  elders  in  Ex.  24 
to  E  would  not  invalidate,  nor  the  reference  of  it  to  J  greatly  support  the 
conclusion  here  accepted,  that  the  present  story  of  the  elders  is  from  E. 
For  earlier  analyses  of  Ex.  24^*1^  see  Holzinger  ;  for  later,  Bacon,  CH., 
who  assign  Ex.  2^^^-  ^""  (the  story  of  the  elders)  to  J,  and  v.*"*  to  E  ; 
Steuernagel  {TSK.  1899,  p.  322),  who  exactly  reverses  this  analysis, 
and  Baentsch,  who  refers  Ex.  24^  (*)•  *""  to  a  very  ancient  north-Israelitish 
tradition. 

2i.  "jsx,'!]  cp.  v."n.  The  form  is  apparently  intended  to  be  Hiphil  (= 
Sisn)— Kon.  i.  390.  Otherwise  Bottcher  (ii.  p.  426)  and  Barth  {ZDMG. 
1SS9,  p.  179 :  cp.  G.-K.  68/),  who  regard  the  form  as  Kal,  the  &  not 

*  So  Kue.  {Hex.  241)  and  many  after  him. 


XI.  30, 31  ii; 

having  been  dulled  to  6  as  in  nai?'!.— 25.  □":pTn  r's  cr^B"]  the  pi.  def.  'i.t 
after  the  indef.  sing',  c's  is  strange  in  spite  of  such  partial  parallels  as 
Gn.  21^  41-''  (cp.  Dr.  Tenses,  209  (i)).  Possibly  e"n  cy^u"  is  an  inter- 
polation.— ;rD;  vh^\  cp.  Dt.  5-^.  G  rightly  nal  oi/Keri  irpoaidevTO :  so  S.  S 
1EDN'  kVi  (cp.  v.^"  H).  IB  (cp.  5!^oand  jon^  ,j^^  jilfra  cessaveruut  as  if  from  fjiD. 
—27.  -lyjn]  Dav.  21^  ;  G.-K.  126,  4.-28.  vi-s-?]  In  Eccl.  (ii«  12')  the  fern, 
pi.  is  used  ;  but  the  usage  may  well  have  changed  in  the  interval.  For 
the  masc.  pi.  abstractly  of  an  age,  cp.  C"ii;^,  c'Jij?.  S  reads  rTn2a=: "  one  of 
his  chosen  (servants) "  :  cp.  G  U.  But  the  clause  by  itself  in  its  present 
position  hardly  bears  such  a  sense.  It  could  be  well  spared  altogether  ; 
however  interpreted,  it  would  be  more  in  place  where  Joshua  is  first  men- 
tioned ;  Di.  indeed  makes  its  presence  here  a  ground  for  denying  the  v. 
toE. 

31-33.  Quails.— Continuation  or  v.^^-^**.  Yahweh  fulfils 
His  promise  of  flesh  by  bringing'  to  the  camp  huge  flights  of 
quails,  which  the  people  kill  in  immense  quantities,  and  eat. 
The  description  is  drawn  from  life,  corresponding  accurately 
to  modern  observations  in  its  various  details — the  great  mul- 
titude of  the  birds,  their  use  of  wind  in  their  migration,  the 
lowness  of  their  flight,  the  ease  with  which  when  weary  they 
are  netted. 

31.  A  110171(1  set  forth  from  Vahweh]  The  vb.  (i'Dj),  which  is 
repeated  (in  Hiphil)  in  Ps.  78-^  is  the  same  as,  e.^.,  in  10^  n.  ; 
cp.  Jon.  I*,  Ps.  135^.  Elsewhere  also  Yahweh  is  represented 
as  working  out  His  purposes  by  means  of  winds — Ex.  lo^^-  ^^ 
1421  (J),  Gn.  81  (P),  Ex.  15W  Ps.  104*  1488.— ^«^  brought 
across  quails^  the  identification  of  salwim  with  the  common 
quail  {Cotumix  communis  or  C.  daciylisonans)  is  well  secured 
by  the  fact  that  this  bird  is  still  called  salwa  in  Egypt  and 
Syria,*  that  its  habits  justify  the  description  here  given,  and 
that  it  was  certainly  so  understood  by  Josephus  [Ant.  iii.  1^  13^, 
opTV^)  if  not  also  by  ffi  {6pTV<yo/.i7]Tpa). 

Quails  belong  to  the  partridge  family.  "  In  March  and  April  they  cross 
the  Mediterranean  from  the  south  ...  in  large  bands,"  and  return  south- 
wards from  Europe  in  even  more  enormous  flights  towards  the  end  of 
September.  On  both  migrations  they  are  netted  for  the  market ;  the  flesh 
of  the  birds  caught  in  the  spring  is  commonly  dry  and  indifferent,  but  that 
of  those  taken  in  autumn  is  excellent.  Though  they  rise  rapidly  on  the 
wing,  they  seldom  fly  far  except  on  their  migrations,  and  then  they  are 

•  Seetzen,  Reisen,  iii.  So:  cp.  Robinson,  Biblical  Researches,  ii.  620. 


Il8  NUMBERS 

often  overtaxed  and  drop  exhausted  into  the  sea  or  on  passing-  sh'ps. 
(The  foregoingf  details  are  condensed  from  EB.  •'  art.  "Quails.") 

Speaking-  of  Palestine,  Tristram  (Fauna  and  Flora  of  Palestine,  124) 
sa3s:  "A  few  pairs  of  quail  may  be  found  here  and  there  all  through 
the  winter ;  but  in  March  they  return  by  m3'riads  in  a  single  night,  and 
remain  to  breed  in  all  the  open  plains,  marshes,  and  corn-fields,  both  in 
the  Ghor  and  the  upper  country." 

It  cannot  be  established  that  in  the  original  source  this  story  was 
referred  to  the  spring  season,  though  it  is  not  unnatural  to  suppose  that 
the  editor,  if  he  reflected  on  the  matter  at  all,  had  this  season  in  view  : 
cp.  10". 

The  sea]  presumably  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah  ;  a  S.E.  wind,  of 
which  a  later  poet  (Ps.  78^^)  thinks,  would,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  bring  up  the  birds  from  the  Gulf  to  people  on  the  march 
from  Sinai  to  Kadesh  or  resident  in  Palestine.  —  32.  The 
people  spend  the  whole  of  two  days  and  the  intervening- 
night  in  capturing  the  birds,  so  that  he  who  caught  least 
brought  home  ten  homers,  i.e.  about  100  bushels.  —  They 
spread  them  out]  to  cure  them  by  drying :  U,  paraphrastically, 
but  rightly,  siccaverunt',  cp.  dS^"^^.  S  (cp.  (5^),  transposing  the 
two  last  letters  of  the  root,  reads  they  slaughtered.  With 
the  preferable  reading  of  fi],  cp.  the  ancient  Egyptian  treat- 
ment of  fish  and  quails:  "of  their  fish,  some  they  used  to 
dry  in  the  sun  and  eat  without  cooking,  others  they  eat 
cured  in  brine.  Of  birds,  they  eat  quails  and  ducks  and 
small  birds  without  cooking,  after  curing  them"  (Her.  ii. 
77). — 33.  Before  the  stock  of  dried  quails  was  exhausted, 
Yahweh  manifests  His  anger  with  the  people  by  destroying 
many  of  them. — Ere  it  ran  short]  For  this  meaning*  of  m33, 
see  Jos.  3^^,  2  S.  3^^  i  K.  2*,  Joel  i^-ie.  fQj.  «<ere  it  was 
chewed,"!  there  is  no  parallel.  The  latter  translation  would 
also  bring  the  v.  into  conflict  with  the  rest  of  the  story ;  for 
the  remark  would  be  pointless  unless  it  means  that  before  the 
people  had  had  time  to  masticate,  on  their  first  attempt  to  eat 
the  quails,  the  plague  broke  out ;  but  v.^^*  naturally  implies 
that  they  had  already  eaten,  and  v.^^~^*  certainly  contemplates 
the  flesh  being  eaten  for  a  whole  month. — And  Yahweh  smote 
the  people  with  a  great  slaughter]  lit.  smiting  (nan  nso  •  .  •  1^i). 

*  G  TJ  C;°;  Di.,  Reuss,  Str.,  Socin  (in  Kautzsch,  HS.\  Bacon, 
t  Arabic  v.,  Ros.,  Ke,,  RV.  BDB. 


XI.    32-35  119 

T\y2  is  frequently  used  both  of  an  act  of  God  (Lev.  26"^,  Dt. 
28^1,  I  S.  48  6^9)  and  of  an  act  of  man  (Dt.  25^,  Jos.  iqI^-o, 
I  S.  14^*).  The  rationalistic  explanation,  that  the  mortality 
among-  the  people  was  due  to  the  poisonous  stuffs  on  which 
quails  are  said  sometimes  to  feed,  if  intended  as  an  interpreta- 
tion of  the  meaning-  of  the  story,  merely  betrays  a  lack  of 
literary  sense  on  the  part  of  those  who  offer  it.  This  mor- 
tality is  not  the  punishment  with  which  Yahweh  threatens 
the  people  in  v.^^"-^  and  it  is  possible  that  the  whole  episode 
of  the  lust  for  flesh  as  here  related  is  borrowed  partly  from  one, 
partly  from  another  form  in  which  the  story  was  wont  to  be 
told. — 34.  The  people  who  die  by  the  hand  of  Yahweh  as  a 
punishment  for  their  lusting  are  buried,  and  their  graves 
give  the  place  its  name,  *'the  Graves  of  the  Lusting"; 
cp.  V.8  n. 

31.  mi]  here,  exceptionally,  masc. :  cp.  Job  4*^  8^,  i  K  19". — )3;i] 
standing  between  l'03  and  tyo'i  should  have  the  same  subj.,  viz.  nn :  then 
C'^hc  is  ace.  and  t:"i  transitive,  and  therefore  rather  to  be  pointed  Hiph. 
than,  with  MT.,  Kal.  The  root  occurs  only  once  again  (Ps.  90^")  in 
OT.,  and  then  with  the  Syriac  sense  fo  pass  away ;  but  with  the  present 
use,  of.  Ar.  jdza,  iii.  to  cross  (Kor.  7^^)  and  iv.  to  make  to  pass  over,  or 
through,  and  the  Targumic  W\  to  pass  over,  or  through  (see  Levy). — D'lSr] 
S  'i^c,  perhaps  rightly  ;  for  note  the  following  D,  and  that  the  word  is  else- 
where always  sing,   in  ||J  (H')'''''  v.^^  Ex.   I6'^   Ps.    Jos'**).     On  '  =  «?,  cp. 

12*  n. ;  but  the  true  form  is  rather  'I'jc  ;  cp.  15^-— '»  »~*CL^£D.  The  word 
seems  a  loan  in  Heb.  and  Syr.  from  Ar.  ;  Lagarde,  BN.  190.  On  the 
renderings  of  the  VV.  see  Di.'s  note  on  Ex.  16. — 33.  With  the  vivid 
construction  of  the  v.,  cp.  Gn.  19^  27^"  38-^  44^"">  Jud.  18^,  and  especially 
Gn.  2<f  (all  early  passages) ;  see  Dr.  Tenses,  169. 

35.  The  people  journey  from  Kibroth-hatta'avah  to  Haseroth 
and  remain  (vn^i,  cp.  Ex.  24^^)  there.  Haseroth  has  been 
identified  by  many  with  'Ain  el  Hadra,  of  which  Palmer 
[Desert  of  the  Exodus,  pp.  260-262,  cp.  313  f.)  gives  a  full 
description.  It  is  two  days'  journey  N.E.  from  Sinai  {i.e.  in 
the  direction  of  the  top  of  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah).  But  this 
identification  rests  on  altogether  inadequate  grounds. 

The  identification  seems  to  have  been  first  suggested  by  Burckhardt 
{Sj-rten,  p.  808) ;  it  is  favourably  entertained  by  Robinson  {Bibl.  Re- 
searches in  Palestine,  1841,  i,  p.  223),  and  defended  by  Palmer  {op. 
ciC.  '.  also  p.  508)  ;  but  questioned  by  Di.  (on  the  present  passage),  Clay 


J 20  NUMBERS 

Trumbull,  Kadesh  Barnea^  p.  314  f.  The  main  ground  of  identification 
is  the  similarity  of  the  name,  the  roots  (^«-:>- =  nun)  and  the  general  sig- 
nification of  the  words  being  the  same.  But  names  derived  from  this  root 
and  of  similar  form  simply  mean  "an  enclosure"  (cp.  Palmer,  pp.  289, 
321 1.),  and  are  so  frequent  that  mere  similarity  of  name  affords  in  this  case 
a  very  insufficient  reason  for  identity  of  place.  In  OT.  there  are  several 
similar  place-names  of  this  class.  See  EBi,  s.v.  Place-names,  §  105.  The 
presence  of  water  at  'Ain  el-Hadra  is  manifestly  a  still  more  insufficient 
ground  of  identification.  How  far  the  position  supports  the  identification 
depends  on  the  validity  of  particular  theories  of  the  route  from  Sinai  to 
Kadesh.     See  further  on  c.  33. 

XII.  1-15.  The  uniqueness  of  Moses. — The  motive  of  this 
story,  which  tells  how  Miriam  and  Aaron  challenge  Moses' 
peculiar  right  to  speak  for  Yahweh,  how  Yahweh  vindicates 
Moses,  and  how  Miriam  is  smitten  with  leprosy  for  her  sin, 
and  only  healed  in  virtue  of  Moses'  intercession,  is  the  unique- 
ness of  Moses'  position  and  of  his  intimacy  with  Yahweh. 
This  appears  in  (i)  the  terms  of  the  challenge,  v. 2,  for 
they  imply  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  Moses'  position  and 
authority  were  supreme;  {2)  in  the  direct  statement  of  the 
divine  utterance,  v.®"^ — to  other  prophets  Yahweh  spoke  by 
dream  and  vision ;  to  Moses,  mouth  to  mouth  as  one  man  to 
another ;  (3)  in  the  vindication  of  Moses'  position  by  the 
divine  judgment  on  Miriam,  v.^^- ;  (4)  in  the  efficacy  of 
INIoses'  intercession  to  remove  Miriam's  leprosy,  v.^^^- 

The  same  motive  is  prominent  in  the  stories  of  the  seventy 
elders  (i  i^*^^-  2ib-30j^  ^j^jj  Qf  ^j^g  mutiny  as  related  by  JE  in  c.  16. 

The  scene  of  the  incident,  as  defined  by  the  editor,  is 
Haseroth  (n^^  12^^),  but  in  the  source  (E)  whence  the  story 
was  drawn  it  may  rather  have  been  Horeb :  cp.  p.  98. 

I.  Miriam  and  Aaron  spoke  against  Mo ses\  Miriam  is  here 
mentioned  before  Aaron  (cp.  fflt^^  in  v.^),  and  the  vb.  is  in  the 
3rd  sing.  fern. ;  subsequently  the  verbs  are  pi.,  and  Aaron  is 
mentioned  first.  The  order  and  cstr.  of  the  present  clause 
(subsequently  abandoned)  indicate  either  that  Miriam  took 
the  lead,  or  that  a  story  in  which  Miriam  alone  off"ended — she 
is  still  alone  in  being  punished — has  been  modified  by  intro- 
ducing Aaron  as  a  second  offender.  For  3  131  of  hostile 
speech,  cp.  v.^  21^-^  (E),  Job  19^^  Ps.  50^*'  78^^. — On  account 


XII.  I  121 

of  the  Cusldle  '.ooinan\  The  Hebrew  Cush  (B^^a)  is  certainly 
used  of  two,  possibly  of  three  distinct  districts  or  peoples : 
I.  Ethiopia  (so  usually);  2.  the  Cassites  (E.  of  Babylonia); 
cp.  Gn.  lo^ ;  *  3.  it  has  been  argued  by  Winckler  f  that  the 
Kusi  mentioned  in  certain  inscriptions  of  Esarhaddon  were  a 
N.  Arabian  people,  and  that  it  is  to  these  that  2  Ch.  14^*^- 
J 58  2 1 18  and  some  other  OT.  passages  refer  when  they  speak 
of  Cush.  If  this  be  admitted,  then  the  statement  that 
Moses  had  married  a  Cushite,  i.e.  a  N.  Arabian  wife,  is 
best  regarded  as  a  variant  form  of  the  tradition  that  Moses' 
wife  was  a  Midianite  (10^,  Ex.  2^^~2i  ^ij  or  a  Kenite  (Jud.  i^^ 
4",  and  see  n.  on  lo^^).  On  the  other  hand,  if  Cushite  be 
here  taken  to  mean  Ethiopian,  J  the  allusion  must  be  to  an 
otherwise  unknown  wife  of  Moses,  for  Sipporah  could  not  be 
called  an  Ethiopian.  In  its  present  position,  it  is  true,  the 
clause  itself,  apart  from  any  particular  interpretation  of 
Cushite,  reasonably  implies  that  the  marriage  was  recent, 
and  consequently  that  the  wife  mentioned  is  not  Sipporah. 
But  without  pronouncing  the  substance  of  the  clause,  the 
invention  of  a  later  age,§  or  denying  that  it  embodies  an 
ancient  tradition, — a  decisive  choice  between  these  alternatives 
is  scarcely  justified, — we  may  suspect  that  its  insertion  here  is 
due  to  an  editor,  rather  than  to  the  author  of  the  main  story ; 
for  at  most  the  marriage  is  the  occasion,  whereas  the  real 
cause  of  the  complaint  against  Moses  is  the  wounded  pride 
of  Miriam  and  Aaron  (v. 2) ;  and  further,  the  mere  assignment 

*  Schrader,  COT,  86-88 ;  Delitzsch,  Wo  lag.  d.  Parodies,  51-57,  72, 
127-129. 

t  Musri,  Meluhha  u.  MSin,  ii. ;  cp.  Musri,  etc.  1.  48  on  2  Ch.  14'* ;  also 
EBi.  s.v.  '*  Cush  "  ;  Hommel  in  Exp.  Times,  viii.  378,  and  Vier  neue  arab. 
Landschaften,  298-303.  Augustine  on  exegetical  grounds  alone  really 
anticipated  this  view — "  Madianitis  .  .  .  qui  reperiuntur  in  Paralipomenon 
^thiopes  dicti,  quando  contra  eos  pugnavit  Josaphat.  Nam  in  his  locis 
dicitur  eos  persecutus  populus  Israel,  ubi  Madianitae  habitant  (II  Paral. 
xiv.  9-14),  qui  nunc  Saraceni  appellantur.  Sed  nunc  eos  ^Ethiopes  nemo 
fere  appellat,  sicut  solent  locorum  et  gentium  nomina  plerumque  vetustati 
mutari  "  {Qtusst.  in  Num.).  The  identification  is  criticised  by  Konig  {Fiinf 
neue  arab.  Landschaften,  5 iff.). 

+  ffi  S  UAr.  AV.;  Jos.  {Ant.  ii.  10) ;  Sayce,  Early  Hist,  of  the  Hebrews, 
214  f. 

§  Cp.  We.  Coinp.  loi. 


122  NUMBERS 

of  marriage  with  a  foreigner  as  a  ground  of  offence  savours 
of  an  age — the  age  of  Ezra — much  later  than  that  to  which 
the  main  narrative  of  c.  12  belongs. 

Di.  considers  that  the  Cushite  offended  Miriam  not  because  she  was 
a  foreigner,  but  because  she  was  black !  A  rabbinical  interpretation  of 
Cushite  is  "  beautiful  "  (21^°  Sam.  V.,  Rashi),  the  meaning  being  based  on 
the  proverbial  beauty  of  the  Ethiopians  or  on  Gematria  (n'cn  being 
numerically  =  nx^D  dd'):  for  other  fancies  of  this  type  see  Sipkre.  21° 
further  recasts  the  story  by  basing  Miriam's  complaint  on  Moses' 
dismissal  of  his  beautiful  wife ;  and  R.  Nathan  (as  cited  by  Rashi)  tells  in 
greater  detail  how  Miriam,  happening  to  be  with  Sipporah  when  Eldad 
and  Medad  prophesied,  heard  her  pity  their  wives  because  their  husbands 
would  now  separate  from  them  as  Moses  had  already  separated  from  her. 

2.  If  the  latter  part  of  v.^  be  an  editorial  insertion,  the 
original  text  ran,  And  Miriain  and  Aaron  spake  against  Moses, 
and  said.  Is  it  only  tvilh  Moses,  etc.  Then,  for  the  sequence, 
cp.  21^. — Is  it  only  with  Moses  that  Yahweh  has  spoken  P  Has  he 
not  also  spoken  •voith  us?\  Miriam  and  Aaron  do  not  call  in 
question  Moses'  prophetic  position  or  his  right  to  lead,  but 
only  the  uniqueness  of  his  prophetic  position  and  his  right  to 
sole  leadership  ;  nor  is  there  any  suggestion  in  their  question 
that  he  had  done  anything  to  forfeit  a  position  originally  held  ; 
in  other  words,  the  question  has  no  relation  to  the  occasion 
mentioned  in  v.^*^.  **To  speak  with  or  by"  (2  in'n)  is  used 
several  times  (v.^-^,  2  S.  23^,  i  K.  22^3,  Hos.  i^,  Hab.  2^,  cp. 
^3  -in'-^n  Zech.  i^-^s  22-7  41-4.6  ^5.10  54)  ^j  ^  divine  communica- 
tion to  or  through  a  prophet  or  other  inspired  person,  though 
it  is   much   less   common   than  the   phrase    **to   speak   to" 

The  precise  meaning  of  3  13T  used  of  a  divine  communication  is  not 
quite  certain.  We  may  notice  three  suggestions  that  have  been  offered. 
(i)  Here  and  in  some  other  passages  {e.g.  i  K  22-*)  it  might  be  and  has 
been  explained  {e.g.  Ges.  Thes.  314a)  as  meaning  "to  use  as  a  spokes- 
man"; ?  certainly  has,  with  some  other  verbs,  a  similar  force:  thus 
3  my  means  "to  use  as  a  slave"  ;  cp.  BDB.  Sgi.  Further,  this  meaning 
would  be  consistent  with  the  Hebrew  view  of  a  prophet's  function  ;  see 
Ex.  4'5^'.  But  the  mediation  of  the  prophet  in  divine  communications  is 
otherwise  expressed,  viz.  by  T3  nan  (17*  27^,  Is.  20^,  Jer.  37^) ;  and  the 
proposed  meaning  of  3  "laT  is  not  in  harmony  with  the  parallel  (.i.siD3 
I'linx  v'jx)  in  v.®,  and  it  is  impossible  in  the  context  both  in  v.^  and  v.^.  (2) 
Another  suggestion  is  that  the  phrase  means  "  to  speak  in,"  and  reters  to 


XII.  2.  3  123 

the  internal  voice  of  revelation  ;  but  this  is  inconsistent  with  the  representa- 
tion of  " the  angel  who  speaks  with"  (3  nmn  -nSdh)  Zechariah  (Zech.  i^ 
and  often) ;  for  this  angel  is  conceived  not  to  dwell  in,  but  to  accompany 
and  sometimes  to  leave  the  prophet  (Zech.  2I' '?)  4^  5^).  (3)  It  is  best  there- 
fore to  explain  3  "ory  on  the  analogy  of  a  nxn,  3  u>3.i,  3  ^Dc,  as  meaning 
"  to  speak  to,"  but  as  expressing  a  closer  and  more  intimate  conversation 
than  "jN  131,  This  explanation  has  the  advantage  of  closely  connecting 
the  sense  of  the  phrase  as  used  here  and  in  similar  cases  with  that  of  the 
phrase  as  used  in  v.^ ;  here  the  9  emphasises  the  friendly  intimacy,  there 
the  hostile  intent  that  accompanies  the  speech  ;  cp.  the  relation  between 
3  i.xn  as  used  in  Ps.  54^  (of  the  intense  gaze  of  pleasure)  and  Gn.  21'^  (of 
the  intense  gaze  of  sorrow  and  distress) ;  so  Konig,  Offenbarungsbegriff, 
ii,  178-180. 

A7id  Yahweh  heard\  11^;  Di.  conjectures  that  the  words 
may,  as  in  11^,  have  been  immediately  followed  by  "and 
Yahweh  was  angry "  (v.^).  Yahweh,  unsought  by  Moses, 
takes  heed  of  the  injustice  done  to  His  servant,  v.^ ;  for  of  all 
mankind  Moses  is  the  humblest  (l3y),  the  most  submissive 
before  God.  The  word  "iJy,  here  only  used  in  the  singular, 
is  generally  rendered  "meek,"  and  interpreted  to  mean 
"patient,"  "given  to  bear  wrongs  without  resistance";  but 
this  is  a  sense  which  it  bears  nowhere  else  in  OT.;  the  mean- 
ing "humble  before  God"  is  illustrated  particularly  by 
Zeph.  2^,  and  by  the  use  of  IJJ?  with  such  parallel  and 
synonymous  terms  as  "  those  that  seek  Yahweh  "  (Ps.  22^'^^-^^). 
Rahlfs  (as  cited  below,  phiL  n.)  has  pointed  out  that  the 
"  'Andwhn  "or  "  meek  ones  "  of  the  Psalms  are  anything  but 
men  who  bear  patiently  wrongs  inflicted  on  them  by  their 
fellow-men.  See,  further,  phil.  note. — The  man  Moses]  (t^'"'i<^ 
nivo)  so  Ex.  11^  (E);  the  phrase  in  Ex.  32^-23  (J)  is  different. 
— The  obliqueness  of  the  reference  to  Moses  and  the  self- 
commendatory  nature  of  the  statement  occasioned  difficulties 
to  older  commentators,  who  were  bound  by  the  theory  of  the 
Mosaic  origin  of  the  Pentateuch. 

1,  nnx  hv]  scarcely  to  be  used,  with  Di.,  as  a  decisive  mark  of  E,  and 
consequently  as  an  argument  in  favour  of  v.^'^  forming  an  integral  part  of 
E's  narrative.  The  phrase  occurs  in  Gn.  2i^^'-^,  Ex.  18^,  Nu.  13^  (all  E), 
and,  with  a  slightly  different  sense,  in  Gn.  26^^  (J),  Jos.  14®  (not  JE) ; 
but  with  the  same  meaning  as  here  it  occurs  outside  the  Hexateuch  in 
Jud.  6^,  and  mix  '?3  hi)  is  used  similarly  in  Jer.  3^.-2.  ix  pi]  The  two 
synonyms  thus  combined  here  only  ;  cp.  6"  n. — 3.  i^v]  The  meaning  of  this 


124  NUMBERS 

word  (mainly  as  used  in  the  Psalms),  its  relation  to  'Jj;,  and  its  interpreta- 
tion in  the  early  Versions,  have  been  fully  investigated  by  Rahlfs  in 
'yj  u.  My  in  den  Psalmen  (Gottingen,  1892);  sec  also  "Poor"  in  DB. 
(Driver)  and  EBi.  (A.  C.  Paterson).  On  the  form  vjy  of  the  K're  see 
Rahlfs,  pp.  95-100  ('  is  a  mater  lectionis  to  indicate  that  the  last  syllable 
is  to  be  pronounced  as  in  I'-i^^). — 3b.  The  language,  as  Di.  points  out, 
resembles  that  of  J  (Gn.  2«  4!-*  i>^-''  f-"^  S^- 13,  Ex.  32^2  33I6),  but  not  de- 
cisively,  as  between  J  and  E  (cp.  CH.). 

4-8.  Yahweli's  vindicatton  of  Moses. — 4.  Suddenly,  that  is, 
immediately  after  the  utterance  of  the  complaint,  vP-,  Yahweh 
summons  Moses,  Aaron,  and  Miriam  out  of  the  camp  to  the 
tent  (cp.  11-^  n.),  and  they  go  out.  —  5.  Yahweh  descends 
in  the  pillar  of  cloud  (cp.  xv^  n.),  and  stands  at  the  door 
of  the  tent  (Ex.  ^f^-  (E),  see  also  Nu.  iii^'-  25),  jje  then 
summons  Miriam  and  Aaron,  and  they  both  step  forward,  viz. 
from  the  position  which  they  had  taken  up  together  with 
Moses.  Certainly  this  gives  the  verb  (iXi""!)  a  sense  different 
from  that  in  which  it  is  used  in  v.*,  and  in  itself  unusual 
(yet  cp.  Zech.  5^).  Di.  explains  the  verb  in  both  cases  of 
going  out  from  the  camp,  regarding  v.*  (J)  and  v.^  (E)  as 
doublets.  But  (i)  it  is  not  in  accordance  with  E's  representa- 
tion elsewhere  that  the  theophanic  cloud  should  appear,  and 
wait  for  people  to  come  out  from  the  camp ;  the  persons 
summoned  to  or  seeking  God  await  His  appearance,  not  He 
theirs  ;  see  Ex.  33'^"^^,  Nu  ii^^^-  2^'-.  (2)  V.*  by  its  reference  to 
the  tent,  no  less  than  v.^  by  its  reference  to  the  cloud,  seems 
to  belong  to  E. — 6-8.  Yahweh  addresses  Aaron  and  Miriam, 
admitting  that  He  may  indeed  communicate  His  will  by  means 
of  others,  but  that  no  other  enjoys  such  direct  and  intimate 
intercourse  with  Him  as  Moses.  The  address  is  poetical  in 
character,  rhythmical  and  parallelistic  in  form.  Adopting  one 
or  two  necessary  emendations,  it  may  be  rendered — 

^  Hearken  now  to  My  words  ! 

If  there  be  a  prophet  among  you. 

In  visions  do  I  make  Myself  known  to  him, 

In  dreams  do  I  speak  with  him. 
^  Not  so  with  My  servant  Moses  : 

In  all  My  house  he  showeth  himself  trustworthy. 


XII.  4-8  125 

8  Mouth  to  mouth  do  I  speak  with  him, 
Plainly  and  not  in  riddles, 
And  the  form  of  Yahweh  doth  he  behold. 
Why  then  did  ye  not  fear, 
To  speak  against  My  servant  Moses  ? 

6.  The  terms  prophet,  vision,  dream  (N"'33,  HKIC,  Dipn)  are 
singulars  with  a  collective  sense ;  the  tenses,  imperfects 
denoting  customary  and  repeated  action  (Dr.  Tenses,  32  f.). 
The  V.  therefore  states  Yahweh's  customary  mode  of  revela- 
tion to  ordinary  prophets — it  is  by  means  of  dreams  and 
visions,  cp.  Joel  3^  (2-^) ;  it  is  this  mode  of  revelation  to  which 
constant  reference  is  made  in  E  (but  not  in  J) — Gen.  15^  20'^ 
2811f.  31II.24  3^5£f.  ^o5ff.  4jl£f.  _^52.  cp.  Nu.  228-20  ("by  night") 
and,  perhaps,  Gn.  21^2  (Qp_  y  14^  ^^^  22^  (cp.  v.^).  Elsewhere 
revelation  by  dream  is  sometimes  distinguished  from  revelation 
through  prophets  (r  S.  28^-  ^5,  Dt.  13^,  Jer.  27^) ;  and  with  some 
of  the  higher  prophets,  such  as  Jeremiah,  dreams  as  a  source  of 
revelation  fell  into  complete  disrepute  (Jer.  2325^-). — A  prophci 
among yoii\  this,  though  the  rendering  of  EV.,  is  not  a  transla- 
tion of  the  present  text  of  '^,  which  can  only  be  rendered.  If 
your  prophet  be  Yahweh  ;  see  phil.  n. — I  speak  with  him]  v.^  n. — 
7.  The  case  is  different  with  Moses,  Yahweh's  trusted  servant. — 
Afy  servant]  Dt.  34^  (JE),  Ex.  1421  (R) :  otherwise  this  descrip- 
tion of  Moses  is,  in  the  Hexateuch,  confined  to  the  Book  of 
Joshua  {e.g.  i^-^-^],  and,  at  least  mainly,  to  its  Deuteronomic 
sections.  Abraham  is  similarly  described  (Gn.  26^*  J)  and 
also  Caleb  (14^*  J).  The  term  is  very  naturally  introduced 
here,  leading  on  as  it  does  to  the  next  clause :  in  all  Yahweh's 
house,  i.e.  in  the  administration  of  all  that  belongs  to  Yahweh 
(viz.  Israel),  Moses  has  proved  himself  worthy  of  Yahweh's 
confidence  (fCNJ,  cp.  i  S.  2^  3*0  22^*:  cp.  the  use  of  the  verb 
^^^^..  in  Gn.  42^0).  He  worthily  sustains  the  part  of  a 
servant  intrusted  with  all  his  master's  affairs,  such  as  Eli'ezer 
(Gn.  24^)  or  Joseph  (41*°;  note  the  usage  of  "'n"'3). — 8.  With 
His  servant,  who  has  thus  proved  his  fidelity  in  the  conduct 
of  all  Yahweh's  affairs,  Yahweh  holds  more  intimate  inter- 
course than  with  ordinary  prophets  :  with  Moses  He  converses 


126  NUMBERS 

not  through  the  medium  of  dream  or  vision,  but  as  one  man 
with  another;  and  not  in  dark  riddles,  but  clearly;  more- 
over, unlike  other  men,  Moses  sees  the  form  of  Yahweh. — 
Month  to  mouth\  cp.  "face  to  face,"  Ex.  33^^  (E),  Dt.  34^"' 
(JE). — Plainly  and  not  in  riddles]  The  meaning"  of  the  first 
word  must  be  gathered  from  that  of  the  second  phrase  in  the 
line ;  the  two  phrases  are  clearly  antithetical ;  the  meaning  of 
the  second  is  plain — God  does  not  express  Himself  to  Moses 
in  dark  enigmatical  sayings  (nn^n  Jud.  14^2^  j  k.  10^,  Ps.  49^), 
but  clearly  and  intelligibly ;  whether  fl^  or  the  different 
reading  of  S  (ffir  S>)  can  be  made  to  mean  this  is  doubtful ;  if 
not,  the  text  must  be  corrupt ;  see  phil.  n. — And  the  fonn  of 
Yahweh  he  beholds]  the  elders  as  well  as  Moses  "saw  God" 
on  Sinai  (Ex.  24^°  JE),  but  that  was  a  special  occasion. 
No  other,  like  Moses,  is  allowed  in  customary  and  familiar 
intercourse  with  God  to  see  His  form  (nJllDD),  though  others 
might  see  it  in  dream  (Job  4^^)  or  ecstatic  vision  (Ps.  17^^). 
D  distinctly  states  that  the  people  at  Horeb  heard  a  voice, 
but  saw  no  form  (Dt.  4^2-  ^^).  The  form  or  fmunah  is  some- 
thing less  distinct  than  the  appearance  or  mai^eh  (Job  4^^) ;  * 
the  present  statement  does  not,  therefore,  necessarily  conflict 
with  Ex.  33^*^  (J).  At  the  same  time  it  would  be  a  mistake  to 
attempt  to  harmonise  all  the  OT.  statements  on  the  visibility 
of  God  ;  they  represent  different  stages  of  thought  and  belief 
on  the  subject;  see  EBi.  s.v.  "Theophany." 

6.  nin'  DDN'33  n'.T  dn]  the  only  possible  translation  (see  above)  is 
nonsense.  The  Versions  afford  no  help ;  |^  seems  older  than  ffi.  The 
conjectural  emendation  D33  n'3J  n'.T  dn  is  simple,  and  has  been  commonly 
adopted  {e.g.  Di.,  Str.,  Kautzsch,  Paterson).  The  superfluous  ni.T  may 
be  misplaced,  having  stood  originally  after  idn'i,  or  may  be  a  gloss 
explaining  that  the  prophet  must  be  a  true  and  not  a  false  one.  The 
position  makes  it  impossible  to  construe  it  as  in  apposition  to  the  subject 
of  yiiDN. — 8.  '13  *?«  ■is]  For  the  ace.  and  some  Arabic  as  well  as  Hebrew 
parallels,  see  Kon.  iii.  402/. — HNnoi]  S  and  some  MSS.  of  pj  n.xina,  G  f " 
ei'Sei,  S  {OV>->N-^.  G  quite  properly  distinguishes  this  from  the  nNicn  (eV 
opd/xaTi),  cp.  V.®;  5  and  (E°  identify  them.  If  the  text  be  sound  here, 
there  is  a  play  on  similar  words  differently  pronounced  (nxiD  and  nxic). 
But  it  may  be  questioned  whether  this  is  likely.     Paterson  (after  Ew.) 

*  Dr.  Deut.  n.  on  4^'. 


XII.  9-13  127 

reads  nn-C2  n>  ;  but  this  is  tautologous  after  v.'^-  ^  The  rendering  "as  an 
appearance"  or  the  like  {e.g.  vermittelst Anblicks,  Di.;  sichtbarlich,  Reuss) 
agrees  better  with  the  usual  sense  of  nuTD  ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  not  only 
destroys  the  antithesis,  but  unduly  anticipates  the  next  line  (ui  njioni). — 
nts-ca  n^j'n]  Dav.  29a. 

9  f.  Miriam's  punishment. — Yahweh  departs  in  wrath  (see 
on  V.2).  No  sooner  has  the  cloud  removed  from  the  tent  than 
Miriam  is  seen  to  be  smitten  with  leprosy.  Miriam  alone  is 
punished  (cp.  Dt.  24^),  apparently  because  she  took  the  lead 
in  the  complaint  (v.^  n.). — 9.  And  He  departed.  And  the  cloud 
removed\  the  tenses  are  not  consecutive,  as  this  rendering  of 
RV.  might  suggest ;  Yahweh  and  the  cloud  departed,  as  well 
as  arrived,  v.^,  simultaneously.  Render:  And  He  departed. 
And  -when  (or,  as  soon  as)  the  cloud  had  removed  .  .  .  behold 
Miriam  was  leprous.  With  the  Heb.  cstr.  of  v.^***,  cp.  Gn. 
1517  24*5  and  the  somewhat  similar  instances  in  Dr.  Tenses, 
169. — From  beside  the  tent]  RV.  "from  over."  This,  it  is 
true,  is  the  commoner  sense  of  the  prep.  (^5?^),  but  it  is  un- 
suitable here  in  view  of  v.^.  For  ^i?D=**from  beside,"  see 
J  526.  27^  Qn^  jy22  J  33^  J  j^  J 63^ — Lcprous  US  (whitc  as)  snoiso] 
so  Ex.  4^  (J) ;  the  story  has  in  view  the  white  or  milder 
form  of  the  disease ;  cp.  Driver  and  White,  Leviticus  {SBOT.), 
p.  76. 

11-15.  Moses'  intercession. — Aaron,  perceiving  his  sister 
leprous,  begs  Moses  to  forgive  their  folly  and  sin,  and  that 
Miriam  may  be  healed,  v.^^'-.  Moses  intercedes  with  Yahweh, 
v.^^  (cp.  11^  n.),  who  insists  that  Miriam  shall  be  excluded 
from  the  camp  for  seven  days.  During  this  time  the  people 
do  not  journey,  v.^*^-. — 11.  O  my  lo?-d\  ""JIN  ""2,  addressed  to 
men,  Gn.  4320  44I8  (both  J),  i  S.  i^\  1  K.  z"'^^',  to  God, 
Ex.  410-13  (J),  Jos.  78  (JE),  Jud.  613-15  if^,—Do  not  lay 
sin  tipon  7is\  i.e.  do  not  compel  us  to  bear  the  consequences  of 
our  sin ;  the  phrase  \7V  riEJTl  ?N)  is  the  negatively  expressed 
equivalent  of  the  more  frequent  "take  away  sin"  (DNton  Nt^'J, 
e.g.  Ex.  iqI''  32^2  (JE)). — 12.  Let  not  Miriam  remain  leprous, 
so  that  by  the  ordinary  process  of  the  disease  she  becomes  like 
an  untimely  birth  born  with  its  skin  already  half  consumed. — 
Like  the  friends  of  Job  (Job  42'^^),  Aaron  and  Miriam  are  com- 
pelled to  seek  the  mediation  of  him  whose  intimacy  with  God 


I2ci  NUiMBERS 

they  had  wrongly  called  in  question. — 13.  Nay  now,  heal  her, 
I  pray]  MT.  runs — O  God,  I  pray,  heal  her,  I  pray :  against 
this,  see  phil.  n. — 14.  In  answer  to  Moses'  prayer,  so  Yahweh's 
words  imply,  Miriam  is  immediately  healed ;  but  Yahweh 
insists  on  her  exclusion  for  seven  days  from  the  camp.  Had 
her  father  put  her  to  shame  by  spitting-  in  her  face,  she  would 
keep  to  herself  for  seven  days  to  hide  her  shame;  not  less 
must  she  do  so  after  being  put  to  shame  by  the  divine  infliction 
of  leprosy. — For  spitting  in  the  face,  cp.  Dt.  25^  (same  phrase 
as  here),  Job  30^*^,  Is.  50^. — Lei  her  be  shut  up\  cp.  Lev.  13*^- — 
And  afterwards  she  sJiall  betake  herself]  viz.  back  into  the 
camp;  cp.  11^*'. 

10.  Vi'D  no  ]iV^]  ct.  Svc  pl-'T  rhvi  9"  10^'  (P). — 11.  icx]  as  in  i  S.  15"  20*2 ; 
cp.  BDB.  s.v.  "iz'N  8c. — 12.  'nn]  S  ''7J:  for  the  meaning  of  this  reading  and 
the  kindred  Tikkun  Sopherim,  see  Geiger,  Urschrift,  p.  384. — "jjk'i]  Dr. 
Tenses,  127/3. — 13.  urSx]  MT.  is  very  improbable,  for  (i)  k:  elsewhere 
always  follows  a  particle  or  a  verb  ;  (2)  Vx  though  common  in  compound 
expressions  and  in  poetry  (especially  Job,  Psalms,  and  Balaam  songs), 
is  very  rare  elsewhere:  cp.  BDB.  p.  42.  For  KrSx,  cp.  Gn.  19'^. — 14. 
pr  pT  .T3Ki]  For  the  omission  of  the  conditional  particle,  see  Dr.  Tenses, 
155;  and  on  the  inf.  abs.  in  a  conditional  clause,  Dr.'s  notes  on  i  S.  i^^ 
2o'. 

16a.  Departure  from  Haseroth  (11^  n.);  16b.  the  people 
encamp  in  the  wilderness  of  Paran.  V.^*^  carries  us  back  to 
the  point  reached  in  lo^^,  and  seems  to  be  merely  an  editorial 
link:  cp.  We.  Comp.  p.  104. 


XIII.  XIV.  The  Spies. 

Literature.  —  Noldeke,  Untersuchungen,  75-78 ;  Kayser,  Das  vor- 
exilische  Buck,  81-85;  Kuenen  in  Th.  Ti.  xi.  545-566;  Wellhausen,  Comp. 
103-105,  336-338  ;  Meyer's  article  in  ZATW.  i.,  Kritii  der  Berichte  titer 
die  Eroberung  Palaestinas,  especially  pp.  139-141  ;  Steinthal  in  Zeitschr. 
fiir  Volkerpsychologie,  xii.  276  fF.;  Bacon,  Triple  Tradition,  177-183,  and 
Hehraica,  xi.  234  ff.;  Steuernagel,  Di«  Einwanderung  der  isratlitischen 
Stdmmen,  70-83,  106  f. ;  O.  F.  Moore  in  EBi,  3441. 

From  the  southern  confines  of  Canaan,  spies  are  despatched 
to  reconnoitre  the  country.  The  majority  bring  back  a  dis- 
couraging report ;  the  people  in  consequence  refuse  to  go 
forward  ;  Yahweh  is  provoked  by  their  unbelief. 


XII.  I3-XIII.  129 

Nothing'  but  the  baldest  analysis  of  the  story  as  it  now  lies 
before  us  is  possible  without  recognising-  the  numerous  incon- 
gruities in  detail  by  which  it  is  marked ;  some  of  these  might 
be  harmonised,  others  are  hopelessly  irreconcilable.  The 
point  of  departure  of  the  spies  is  now  the  wilderness  of  Paran, 
y  3. 26a^  now  Kadesh,  v.2*^^;  the  country  reconnoitred  is  now 
the  whole  land  of  Canaan,  v.^-  i^a^  from  the  extreme  south  to 
the  extreme  north,  v.^^,  now  only  the  southern  district  round 
Hebron,  v.^^"^*;  the  majority  of  the  spies  now  report  that  the 
land  is  unfertile,  v.^^,  now  that  it  is  very  fertile,  but  invincible, 
y  27-31.  33.  fjQ^v  Caleb  alone  dissents  from  the  majority,  v.^'', 
and  is  alone  exempted  from  punishment,  14^*;  now  both 
Joshua  and  Caleb  dissent,  14°'-,  and  are  exempted,  14^.  Even 
when  the  details  of  the  narrative  are  not  incongruous,  they 
are  frequently  duplicated,  or  the  style  is  markedly  redundant 
{e.£:.  13^^"^°,  and  note  the  extent  to  which  14^^-24  ^j^j  y  26-35 
are  parallel  in  substance). 

The  reason  for  these  incongruities  and  redundancies  lies 
in  the  fact  that  the  editor  has  fused,  without  wholly  assimilat- 
ing to  one  another,  various  versions  of  the  incident. 

The  literary  origin  of  the  present  form  of  the  story  appears  to  have 
been  much  as  follows  : — The  story  as  it  ran  in  the  prophetic  history  of  the 
7th  cent.  (JE)  was  already  marked  by  redundance,  but  not  by  striking- 
incongruities,  for  the  stories  of  J  and  E,  which  were  then  combined,  down 
as  far  at  least  as  the  reception  of  the  reports,  resembled  one  another  closely 
in  their  leading  features.  The  long  argument  of  Moses  with  Yahweh 
(1411-24)  formed  no  original  part  of  J  or  E,  but  stood  in  JE  ;  whether  it  was 
written  by  the  editor  himself,  or  had  been  incorporated  in  J  by  a  some- 
what earlier  writer,  may  be  left  an  open  question.  The  story  of  P  was 
very  different  ;  but  the  editor  who  combined  JE  and  P  has  made  little 
attempt  to  smooth  away  the  differences.  This  editor  has  incorporated  P 
almost  intact,  JE  more  fragmentarily,  and  perhaps  with  some  dislocation 
{e.g.  13**  maybe  out  of  place);  it  is  probable  also  that  he  has  recast 
some  part  of  Yahweh's  speech  to  Moses  (j^.^-^).  It  is  uncertain  whether 
a  few  unimportant  annotations  are  due  to  this  editor  or  a  later  scribe  (e.g. 
in  1326). 

To  facilitate  the  study  of  the  narrative  the  two  main 
sources  (down  to  the  reception  of  the  reports)  are  here  given 
in  parallel  columns;  the  detailed  analysis  of  JE  into  J  and  E 
cannot  be  carried  through  with  any  approach  to  certainty; 
for  attempts  the  reader  may  refer  to  CH.  and  Bacon.  For 
9 


i;o 


NUMBERS 


brevity's  sake  the  list  of  names  in  13*'^^  is  omitted  from  P 
here. 


JE 

[Arrived  at  Kadesh  (13^,  cp.  32^, 
Dt.  Il'*•■^^  Jos.  14''),  Moses,  at  the 
request  of  the  people  (Dt.  i"''), 
despatched  Caleb  and  other  men 
(j^sof.  27)^  twelve  in  all  (Dt.  i^)] 
^"'  "and  he  said  unto  them,  Get 
you  up  then  into  the  Negeb  and  get 
you  up  into  the  mountains,  ^^  and 
see  the  land  what  it  is,  and  the 
people  that  dwell  therein,  whether 
they  be  strong  or  weak,  whether 
they  be  few  or  many  ;  ^^  and  what 
the  land  is  that  they  dwell  in, 
whether  it  be  g-ood  or  evil,  and 
what  the  cities  are  wherein  they 
dwell,  whether  in  camps,  or  in 
strongholds  ;  ^  and  what  the  land 
is,  whether  it  be  fat  or  lean,  whether 
there  be  wood  in  it  or  not ;  and 
exert  yourselves  to  bring  some  of 
the  fruit  of  the  land.  Now  the 
time  was  the  time  of  first  ripe  figs, 
-^  and  they  went  up,  ^  and  they 
went  up  by  the  Negeb  and  came 
unto  Hebron;  and  Ahiman,  Sheshai, 
and  Talmai,  the  children  of  'Anak, 
were  there.  Now  Hebron  was  built 
seven  years  before  Zoan  in  Egypt. 
^  And  they  came  unto  the  valley 
of  Eshcol,  and  cut  down  from 
thence  a  branch  with  one  cluster  of 
grapes,  and  they  carried  it  away  on 
a  frame  borne  by  two,  and  also 
some  of  the  pomegranates,  and  of 
the  figs.  That  place  was  called 
the  valley  of  the  cluster  (Eshcol)  on 
account  of  the  cluster  which  the 
children  of  Israel  cut  down  from 
thence. 

28  "And  they  went  to  Kadesh 
and  brought  back  word  unto  them, 
and  showed  them  the  fruit  of  the 
land.  "^  And  they  told  him  and 
said.  We  came  unto  the  land  whither 
thou  sentest  us,  and  surely  it  flow- 
eth  with  milk  and  honey,  and  this 


P 

*  "And  Yahweh  spake  unto 
Moses,  saying,  -  Send  the  men 
that  they  may  spy  out  the  land  ol 
Canaan  which  I  give  unto  the 
children  of  Israel ;  of  every  tribe  of 
their  fathers  shalt  thou  send  a  man, 
every  one  a  prince  among  them. 
*  And  Moses  sent  them  from  the 
wilderness  of  Paran  according  to 
the  commandment  of  Yahweh  ;  all 
of  them  were  men,  heads  of  the 
children  of  Israel.  *  And  these 
were  their  names  "  —  the  names, 
including  Hoshea  the  son  of  Nun, 
follow,  v.^".  16  "These  are  the 
names  of  the  men  whom  Moses 
sent  to  spy  out  the  land.  And 
Moses  called  Hoshea'  the  son  of 
Nun,  Joshua.  "  And  Moses  sent 
them  to  spy  out  the  land  of  Canaan  ; 
21  and  they  spied  out  the  land  from 
the  wilderness  of  Sin  unto  Rehob, 
to  the  entering  in  of  Haniath. 


"*  "And  they  returned  from 
spying  out  the  land  at  the  end  of 
forty  da5's.  "®  And  they  came  to 
Moses,  and  to  Aaron,  and  to  all 
the  congregation  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  unto  the  wilderness  of  Paran. 
^-  And  they  spread  abroad  among 


XIII. 


131 


is  the  fruit  of  it.  ^  Howbeit  the 
people  that  dwell  in  the  land  is 
strong,  and  the  cities  are  fortified, 
very  great ;  and  we  also  saw  the 
children  of 'Anak  there.  *®  ('Amalek 
was  dwelling  in  the  land  of  the 
Negeb,  and  the  Hittite,  the  Jebusite, 
and  the  Amorite  were  dwelling 
in  the  mountain,  and  the  Canaan- 
ite  was  dwelling  beside  the  sea 
and  along  the  side  of  Jordan.) 
*"  And  Caleb  stilled  the  people  be- 
fore Moses,  and  said,  We  ought  to 
go  up  and  possess  it,  for  we  are 
quite  able  to  overcome  it.  ^'  But 
the  men  that  went  with  him  said, 
We  cannot  go  up  against  the  people, 
for  it  is  stronger  than  we  are;  '^  and 
all  the  people  whom  we  saw  there- 
in are  men  of  stature  ;  and  there 
we  saw  the  Nephilim  (the  sons  of 
'Anak  are  some  of  the  Nephilim), 
and  we  were  in  our  own  sight  as 
grasshoppers,  and  so  we  were  in 
their  sight. 

14^  ".  .  .  and  they  gave  forth 
their  voice,  and  the  people  wept 
that  night  ...  *  and  wherefore 
doth  Yahweh  bring  us  unto  this 
land,  to  fall  by  the  sword?  Our 
wives  and  our  little  ones  shall  be  a 
prey :  were  it  not  better  for  us  to 
return  to  Egypt?  *  And  they  said 
one  to  another.  Let  us  make  us 
a  head  and  return  to  Egypt  .  .  . 


8  It  Yahweh  delight  in  us,  then  He 
will  bring  us  into  this  land  and 
give  it  unto  us  ;  a  land  which  flow- 
eth  with  milk  and  honey.  ^  Only 
rebel  not  against  Yahweh.  But  as 
for  you,  fear  ye  not  the  people  of  the 
land  ;  for  they  are  our  bread  :  their 
shadow  has  departed  from  them, 
whereas  Yahweh  is  with  us :  fear 
them  not." 


the  children  of  Israel  an  evil  report 
of  the  land  which  they  had  spied, 
saying.  The  land  through  which  we 
passed  to  spy  it  out  is  a  land  that 
eateth  up  its  inhabitants. 


14'  "And  all  the  congregation 
lifted  up  (their  voice),  ^and  all  the 
children  of  Israel  murmured  against 
Moses  and  against  Aaron  ;  and  the 
whole  congregation  said  unto  them, 
Would  that  we  had  died  in  the  land 
of  Egypt !  or  Would  that  in  this 
wilderness  we  had  died !  ^  Then 
Moses  and  Aaron  fell  on  their  faces 
before  all  the  assembly  of  the  con- 
gregation of  the  children  of  Israel. 
®  And  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun  and 
Caleb  the  son  of  Jephunneh,  who 
were  among  them  that  spied  out  the 
land,  rent  their  garments,  ^  and  said 
unto  all  the  congregation  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  saying,  The  land 
through  which  we  passed  to  spy  it 
out  is  an  exceeding  good  land. 
'"  And  all  the  congregation  bade 
stone  them  with  stones.  And  the 
glory  of  Yahweh  appeared  in  the 
tent  of  meeting  unto  all  the  children 
of  Israel." 


132  NUMBERS 

Then   follows    Moses'  arg-ument  Then  follows  in  1426-29  (mainly  P] 

with  Yahweh,   His    reply,  and  the  the    condemnation   to    forty   years' 

exemption  of  Caleb  from  the  sen-  wandering  for  all  the  people,  and 

tence  passed  on  the  rest,  I4""-^  the  death  to  all  over  twenty  years  of 

command  to  take  the  Red  Sea  route,  age  except  Joshua  and  Caleb, 
v.^,   and  the   futile   attack  on   the 
Canaanites  and  'Amalekites,  v.^"^. 

Data  for  the  preceding  analysis. — (i)  P.  13'-  ^^  connects  with  10'^ ; 
the  glory  of  Yahweh  (14'"  n.) ;  Aaron  (13''*  142- s.  26^ ;  the  list  of  names 
(i3*'^*)>  the  change  of  Joshua's  name  (13^*  ;  cp.  Gn.  17'- 1*  35^"  P),  the 
precise  determination  of  age  and  time  (14^*^*).  Linguistically,  note  v.^ 
(cp.  CH.  185a),  ncD  i32-«-i»  (cp.  I*  4I8  nn.),  n'cj  13*  (cp.  7^  n.),  my  13-6 
,^1.2.5.7.10.27.351.  (i2n.),  \h  oT  pVn  i^-^-^-^-^^  iKO  nxo  14''  (CH.  63),  c:t 
14"*,  ^V13  14^  (CH.  Ill)  ;  also,  as  linking  parts  of  this  particular  narrative, 
mn  132.101. 21- 25- S2  1461.36.38^  and  further  3  nay  13*2  14',  nan  K'sin  if^  \^^^:— 
(2)  JE.  Note  generally  the  vividness  and  picturesqueness  of  this  story 
as  compared  with  P,  e.g.  1320I'.  23  j^s  ^nd  i3"-2o  (as  contrasted  with  the 
simple  "spy  out"  of  P).  In  detail  note  the  absence  of  P's  peculiarities 
and  the  presence  of  certain  words  or  phrases  characteristic  of  JE — nyi 
.  .  .  nam  V.19  (CH.  165),  mK  Vy  v.^^  (12^  n.),  "Eo  v."  (CH.  219):  see, 
further,  CH.  margins. 

TTie  extent  of  P. — In  c.  13  only  one  or  two  differences  as  to  the  literary 
analysis  call  for  mention.  In  v.^  CH.  (followed  above)  not  unreasonably 
see  in  iin'i  the  immediate  continuation  of  v."*  (P),  and  regard  I'^yi  as  the 
doublet  in  JE  to  I'jyi  v.*'':  cp.  i'?v  and  cn'Si'i  in  v."''.  But  most  assign  all  of 
V."  to  P.  More  doubtful  is  the  assignment  *  of  all  v.*2b  to  P  :  it  contains 
no  mark  of  P's  style,  and  the  fact  that  the  height  of  the  inhabitants  is 
twice  referred  to  is  insufficient  proof  that  one  of  these  references  must 
fall  to  P  ;  14^  ignores  the  point.  In  I4^-^'*  not  less  than  is  assigned  above 
is  derived  from  P  ;  CH.  assign  also  nnon  '?«  ."nnn  -k  in  v.**,  Kue.  (p. 
562  f.)  V.*,  Com.  {Einleitung,  19)  v.*  and  possibly  v.*  to  P  ;  but  there  is 
nothing  sufficiently  characteristic  in  the  style  to  justify  this,  and  v."*  "• 
seem  to  correspond  to  the  nature  of  the  report  of  the  spies  in  JE.  Within 
i42>-*8  many  detect  a  fragment  of  JE,  though  they  differ  as  to  its  extent ; 
thus  Dr.  assigns  v.*^"^  to  JE,  Bacon  to  J  ;  Di.  v."'*^  and  ?  v."  to  J. 
Bacon  urges  that  the  narrative  of  J  in  v.^^"^,  incomplete  in  itself,  is  com- 
pleted by  v.'^-^,  which  latter  w.  duplicate  P's  narrative  (cp.  v.^  with 
v.^).  On  the  other  hand,  v.*'  is  not  easily  divorced  from  v.*",  and  v.*^*.  is 
connected  with  v.®  by  DDnJS.  The  citation  of  v.*^  in  Dt.  i^*'  proves 
nothing,  for  there  the  clause  is  a  late  gloss  unknown  to  ffi.  The  theory 
that  seems  to  do  most  justice  to  the  facts  is  that  v.''^"'^  is  a  passage  from 
P,  expanded  in  y.*"-^  by  an  editor  using,  but  recasting,  older  material 
derived  from  or  allied  to  JE  ;  hence  the  connection  of  v.*'*  with  v.*;  cp. 
We.  Kue.  Com.  In  14^  clause  a  may  well  be  assigned  (with  CH.)  to  P 
(cp.  v.^)  ;  but  clause  J  to  JE  ;  the  change  of  subject  from  "children  of 
Israel "  to  "  the  people  "  (cp.  14*  n.)  favours  the  division. 

•  Reuss,  Gruppe  {ZATW.  ix.  141-143),  Str.,  CH. 


XIII.  133 

In  P's  story,  then,  Moses,  at  the  direct  command  of  Yahweh, 
despatches  twelve  spies,  one  taken  from  each  tribe,  to  traverse 
Canaan,  and  report  on  the  country.  In  forty  days  the  spies 
pass  through  from  what  was  subsequently  the  southernmost 
to  the  northernmost  point  of  Canaan  (with  v.^i  cp.  34^-  ^)  and 
return.  The  majority  report  the  land  unproductive — as  in- 
deed the  contemporaries  of  Haggai  and  Nehemlah  in  the 
sixth  and  fifth  centuries  found  it  to  be  (Hag-.  1*  2^^,  Neh.  5) ; 
but  Joshua  and  Caleb  report  it  good — as  it  appeared,  for 
example,  to  the  contemporaries  of  Hosea  (c.  2).  The  people 
murmur,  and  Yahweh,  in  His  provocation,  condemns  the 
people  to  forty  years'  wandering,  and  all  over  twenty  years 
of  age,  except  Caleb  and  Joshua,  to  death  in  the  wilderness. 

The  traversing  of  the  whole  country,  apparently  without 
difficulty  or  precaution  taken,  shows  the  same  generalisation 
of  early  traditions  and  the  same  indifference  to  historical 
realities  which  are  found  elsewhere  in  P. 

In  JE  all  is  different,  the  men  go  up  from  Kadesh  into 
the  Negeb ;  they  go  as  far  as  Hebron  or  Eshcol :  they  bring 
home  grapes  to  confirm  their  report  of  the  great  fertility  of 
the  country.  But  they  bring  back  also  tales  of  giants  and 
strong  cities ;  the  land,  they  say,  is  certainly  good,  but 
invincible.  Caleb  alone  dissents  from  this  view  and  en- 
deavours (or  supports  Moses'  endeavours)  to  convince  the 
people  that,  strong  in  Yahweh's  presence,  they  are  more  than 
equal  to  the  people  of  Canaan.  But  the  people  are  afraid, 
and  refuse  to  go  forward.  Yahweh  orders  them  back  into 
the  wilderness.  Then  the  people  repent,  attack  the  'Amale- 
kites  and  Canaanites,  but  are  forsaken  by  Yahweh  and  de- 
feated. 

The  separate  stories  of  J  and  E. — Without  attempting'  a  complete 
analysis  in  detail,  for  which  the  data  are  insufficient,  it  must  suffice  to 
point  out  here  what  may  have  been  the  main  features  of  the  two  similar 
stories  that  appear  to  be  fused  in  JE.  That  two  stories  are  there  com- 
bined is  rendered  probable,  not  only  by  the  numerous  repetitions  and  the 
differences  of  names  or  terms,  but  also  by  the  fact  that  Dt.  i2o-«  follows 
one  set  of  terms  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other.  In  one  of  these  stories  (E's, 
followed  by  Dt.),  then,  the  spies  are  bidden  to  go  up  into  the  mountains 
(13^'' last  clause),  and  to  bring  samples  of  the  fruit  of  the  land  (v,-"") :  they 


134  NUMBERS 

g-o  as  far  as  Eschol  and  bring-  fruit  thence  (v.^'-).  To  this  story  there 
may  further  belong  v."^''  (in  part :  at  least  the  last  clause),  ^  (last  clause), 
s-»b.  33_  jr,  tjig  other  story  (J)  the  spies  are  sent  into  the  Negeb  (13"  last 
clause  but  one)  and  go  as  far  as  Hebron  (v.^-).  To  this  there  may  further 
belong-  I3isf-  (in  the  main),  v."^-^.  On  14I1-2*  (neither  J  nor  E)  1425- s9-« 
see  the  separate  discussions  below. 

l-17a.  The  selection  and  despatch  of  the  twelve  spies  (P). 
— Having  reached  the  wilderness  of  Paran  (10^-),  Moses  is 
commanded  by  Yahweh  to  select  twelve  men,  one  from  each 
tribe,  and  to  send  them  hence,  v.^,  to  spy  out  the  land  of 
Canaan,  v.^-^^*;  v.*~^^  names  of  the  spies;  v.^^  Hoshea'  re- 
named Joshua. 

1.  And  Yahweh  said  tmto  Moses]  According  to  Dt.  i--^- 
it  was  the  suggestion  of  the  people  which  led  Moses  to  send 
men  to  reconnoitre  the  land.  Nothing  is  said  here  of  the 
people's  suggestion  ;  nothing  there  of  the  divine  command. 
S  here  combines  the  two  accounts  by  prefixing  to  the  present 
chapter  the  substance  of  Dt.  i^o-23a^  changing  the  persons  so 
as  to  make  the  passage  read  as  a  narrative  in  the  3rd 
person :  for  similar  insertions  in  S  see  Introduction. — 2.  The 
land  of  Canaan\  (}yj3  px)  The  regular  term  in  P  for  the 
land  of  promise ;  it  certainly  has  this  connotation  in  34^, 
Gn.  178  483f-,  Ex.  6S  Lev.  iS^  2538,  Dt.  32^9;  probably, 
also,  in  many  of  the  remaining  passages,  about  thirty  in 
number,  in  which  P  employs  the  term  (CH.  4).  In  JE,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  never  appears  to  possess  this  connota- 
tion ;  and  is  much  less  frequently  used  than  in  P,  occurring 
several  times  in  Gn.  c.  42.  44.  45.  47,  and  otherwise  only  in 
Gn.  35^  50^,  Jos.  24^.  For  the  land  of  promise  JE  employs 
a  variety  of  terms,  e.g.  "the  land  of  the  Canaanite"  (pS 
-JW^n),  Ex.  13II;  **the  land  that  I  will  show  thee,"  Gn.  12^; 
"this  land"  (Gn.  12}  is^-is  24^— ct.  i7«  P) :  cp.,  further,  Gn. 
28^3^  Nu.  lo^^  14^°.  These  terms  are  sometimes  defined  by 
the  context ;  e.g.  it  is  the  land  in  which  the  Canaanite  then 
dwelt,  Gn.  12^;  or  the  land  "from  the  river  of  Egypt  to  the 
Great  River,"  Gn.  15^^.  In  the  JE  narratives  of  the  sojourn 
in  Egypt,  of  the  Exodus  and  of  the  Wanderings,  it  is  "the 
land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  "  (Ex.  3^  and  often),  the 
land  sworn  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  or  to  the  fathers 


XIII.  1-4  135 

(Ex.  13"  33^,  Nu.  14^^  Dt.  31^3  34"),  "the  place  which  I 
have  prepared  "  (Ex.  2320) :  ct.  Ex.  6*,  Dt.  32^^  (P).  D  agrees 
in  this  usage  with  JE  against  P.  Outside  the  Hexateuch 
"the  land  of  Canaan"  occurs  only  as  follows: — Jud.  21^", 
Ezek.  i629  (17*),  Ps.  105^1=1  Ch.  i6i8._For  the  extent  of 
territory  covered  by  the  term  (as  used  by  P),  see  v.^^  and 
notes  there ;  also  34"** • — Shall  ye  send]  the  subject  is  Moses 
and  Aaron  and  also  (?)  the  whole  congregation,  cp.  v.^*'''^ ; 
but  in  view  of  v.^-  ^-  ^^  it  is  better  to  read  with  ffir  5  S  *  s/zall 
thou  (the  subject  being  Moses)  send. — Every  one  a  prince 
among  the?7i\  Each  tribe  had  more  than  one  "prince" 
(X"'t:'j) ;  for  the  spies  (v.^"^^)  are  not  the  same  people  as  the 
representatives  of  the  tribes  at  the  census  (1^^^);  yet  these 
latter  also  were  "princes  of  their  fathers' tribes  "  (i^*").  Note, 
too,  that  Ele'azar  is  archprince  (''^''t^'J  ^^''C^j)  of  the  Levites,  3^^. 
See  also  4^*  n.  and  16^.  The  term  originally  meant  "an 
eminent  person"  (from  Xki':  =  "to  lift  up"),  or,  according  to 
a  less  probable  view  of  the  etymology,  a  "spokesman"  (from 
N'J'3  =  ^ip  m'^  =  "to  lift  up  the  voice,"  cp.  Hoffmann,  Phon. 
Inschr.  55;  and,  for  the  form,  Barth,  NB.  125^), — 3.  The 
•wilderness  of  Paran\  10^^  n. — At  the  commandment  of  Vahweh] 
oneofP's  favourite  and  characteristic  phrases:  Dr.  L.O.T.  134, 
no.  41. — Heads  of  the  children  of  Israel]  the  representatives  in 
i^^  are  called  "heads  (''L^xi)  of  the  thousands  of  Israel." — 
4.  These  mere  their  names]  .  .  .  niDK'  n^N  is  the  common 
formula  for  introducing  a  list  of  names  ;  it  is  very  frequent  in 
P  {e.g.  Gn.  25^^  Ex.  i^  Nu.  i^  34"- 1^,  Jos.  17^),  but  is  also 
employed  by  other  writers — 2  S.  5^*  23^,  Ezek.  48^,  i  K.  4^, 
Ezr.  8^3,  I  Ch.  838,  ^p.  CH.  i88^— None  of  the  twelve  spies 
with  the  exception  of  Caleb  and  Joshua  are  ever  mentioned 
elsewhere.  Although  there  is  no  such  convergence  of  evidence 
as  in  the  case  i^~^^  that  the  present  is  an  artificial  list  com- 
posed at  a  late  date,  there  is  little  ground  for  confidence 
that  the  list  itself,  or  that  the  'whole  of  the  names  which 
compose  it,  is  of  ancient  origin. 

The  relevant  facts  are  these :  The  four  names,  Caleb,  Jephunneh 
(yet  compare  Heb.  Prop.  Names,  p.  204),  Joshua,  and  Nun  belong-  to  the 
early  traditions.     Of  the  remaining-  twenty,  eleven  are  otherwise  quite  un- 


136  NUMBERS 

known — these  are  Raphu,  Gaddiel,  Sodi,  Gaddi  ('i? :  yet  compare  11  '"i| 
ra55t(s),  I  Mac.  2^),  Susi,  Gemalli,  Sethur,  Nahbi,  Vophsi,  Geu'el,  Machi. 
The  text  and  interpretation  of  several  of  these  is  very  uncertain.  As  to 
the  remaining"  nine  names  :  Hori  ('im)  is  also  the  name  of  a  Horite  clan, 
Gn.  36^-,  I  Ch.  i":  Palti  of  a  contemporary  of  David,  i  S.  25**  (called 
elsewhere  Palti' el) ;  of  a  late  currency  of  these  two  names  we  have  no 
evidence.  'Ammi'el  is  the  name  of  a  contemporary  of  David  (2  S.  9*),  but 
occurs  also  in  1  Ch,  26' ;  on  this  name  cp.  HPN.  47,  245.  We  have 
evidence  that  the  names  Shammua',  Ig^'al  (''»<J'),  and  Shaphat  were  in  use 
both  comparatively  early  (in  or  before  9th  century  B.C.)  and  also  late 
(see,  on  the  one  hand,  2  S.  5^*  23^,  i  K.  19**;  on  the  other,  e.g.  Neh.  11", 

1  Ch.  3^2  5 '2^  ;  though  the  evidence  for  the  early  use  of  Shammua'  and 
Ig'al  rest  on  uncertain    reading's  (with  2  S.  5^*  cp.   i  Ch.    3',    and   with 

2  S.  23^',  I  Ch.  n^).  The  same  is  true  of  Joseph  (but  see  below  on  v.''). 
We  have  no  authentic  evidence  of  the  early  currency  of  either  Zaccur  or 
Micha'el  among"  the  early  Hebrew,  though  both  names  are  common  in 
post-exilic  literature;  see  HPN.  157,  181,  210,  221  ;  236.  The  compara- 
tively small  number  of  compounds,  and  especially  of  compounds  with  a 
divine  name,  would  be  well  explained  by  assuming"  an  early  origin  for  the 
list ;  the  fact  that  in  all  four  of  the  compounds  with  -el  the  divine  name 
stands  at  the  end,  on  the  other  hand,  points  to  a  late  date,  though  not  very 
conclusively,  for  in  no  instance  is  the  first  element  a  3rd  pf.  Cp.  on  these 
and  other  matters  the  small  print  note  on  i".  A  noticeable  feature  of 
the  list  is  the  larg-e  number  (nine)  of  forms  ending^  in  •-;-.  In  favour  of 
the  authenticity  of  the  list,  see  Hommcl,  Alttest,  Ueberlieferung,  pp. 
298-302. 

6.  Of  the  tribe  of  Judah^  Caleb]  cp.  34^*  (P).  According 
to  another  and  earlier  tradition,  Caleb  was  a  Kenizzite,  32^^, 
Jos.  14^-  ^*. — 7-11.  The  vv.  do  not  appear  to  be  in  their  original 
order:  probably  v.^^-^^  once  stood  before  v.^-*;  the  unusual 
separation  in  the  present  text  of  Issachar  from  Zebulon,  of 
Ephraim  from  Manasseh,  and  the  occurrence  of  the  clause  **  of 
the  tribe  of  Joseph"  after  one  half  of  Joseph  has  been  dismissed, 
all  point  to  this  conclusion :  see  Expositor,  1902  (March),  pp. 
225-240.  Probably,  too,  the  text  is  not  only  dislocated,  but 
corrupt:  the  names  Gaddi'el,  Sodi,  Gaddi,  Susi  in  v.'^*''-  are 
suspiciously  alike,  and  the  name  of  Ig'al's  father  may  have 
been  accidently  lost  by  a  repetition  of  Joseph  from  the  phrase 
"of  the  sons  of  Joseph." — 16.  And  Moses  called  Hoshea  .  .  . 
Joshita\  This  is  the  first  occasion  on  which  Joshua  is  men- 
tioned in  P.  Since,  according  to  P,  the  name  of  Yahweh  was 
not  revealed  until  after  Joshua's  birth  (Ex.  6'),  a  name  con- 
taining Yeho  =  Yahweh  could  not  have  been  given  him  at 


XIII.  6-17  137 

birth.  P  therefore  attributes  the  name  to  Moses.  The  pre- 
vious references  to  Joshua  in  the  Pentateuch  occur  in  JE  (Ex. 
179- 13  24I3  3217  3311,  Nu.  ii28). 

2.  nn*i]  nin  occurs  1 1  times  in  this  and  the  next  c.  (references  above, 
p.  132) ;  and  also  (in  a  different  sense)  in  15^^  (P)  10^^  (JE),  Dt.  i^, 
I  K.  ioi5  =  2  Ch.  9I*  (text  doubtful),  Ezek.  20«,  Eccl.  i'^  2^  f''\.  All  three 
instances  of  the  Hiph.  (Jud.  I-^  Pr.  is^^,  2  S.  22^3,  ct.  Ps.  18^)  are 
textually  doubtful.  Entirely  different  words  are  used  to  express  the  idea 
of  spying-  out  in  Dt.  i^"  ",  which  is  probably  based  on  the  now  lost  intro- 
duction to  the  JE  story,  viz.  'tn  and  h-j.^  (the  latter  also  in  Jos.  14'). 
Ct.,  further,  with  "iin,  consistently  used  by  P  here,  d^Vjis  in  Gn.  42', 
Jos.  2I  (JE).— "pKnE"]  (K  +  ninKV;  cp.  Lev.  14=*,  Dt.  32^^  j^  j^.  ^i^g  g^me 
addition  in  (G  in  27'"^  and  in  <&'^^  in  20-*.  For  the  omission  of  nin.x'?  in  both 
ji?  and  ffi,  see  I5^  Lev.  23^'*  25^. — vnnN  nan^]  ffi  Kara  cpv\y)v  Kara  dripiovs 
■jrarpiuv  ainCiv,  i.e.  cn^N  (n'D)  nnDCD"?  nao'? ;  cp.  e.g;  i^*.  For  the  com- 
bination in  ^,  cp.  i'*-*''. — cn3  n-a  ^3]  ';3  absolutely  and  without  the 
article  in  this  sense  is  rare  ;  BDB.  p.  4826.  The  collective  subj.  (S:) 
is  distributed  by  the  singular  predicate  —  "all  (severally)  a  prince."  — 
4.  ViSB']  so  05^  Za/x/Mov:  but  ffi^  SajUoi/ijX,  ^^  XafxaXiriX  ;  cp.  Vn'd'^B'  i«. — 
1131]  If  an  ancient  traditional  name,  the  name  perhaps  means  "ventri- 
loquist"  (1=;,  not  j)  :  Lag-.  NB.  112  n. — 5.  mn]  ffi  ^.ovpei,  ^ovSpi. — 12 
Sn'Cv]  S  Vn''?dj.— 15.  'D3i]  ISc  lojSet.— 15.  hiimi]  (Sc  TovSiijX  (=in  v.^"  ^xnj).— 

'3=]  5  T3a. 

17b-20  (JE).  The  men  are  charged  to  proceed  into  the  Negeb 
and  the  mountains,  and  to  investigate  the  nature  of  the  country, 
its  inhabitants,  cities,  and  produce. — The  redundance  in  these 
verses  is  the  result  of  the  fusion  of  sources  (J  and  E) :  see 
above,  p.  133  f.  The  redundance  is  reduced  in  S  by  the 
omission  of  all  of  v.^^  (after  "wherein  they  dwell  ")  and  some 
clauses  in  v.^*^.  S  thus  proves  that  the  redundance  was  felt  at 
an  early  period.  But  it  does  not  represent  the  orig-inal  text, 
for  note  the  references  back  to  v.^^**  in  v.^^,  and  cp.  Dt.  i^-, 
Jos.  14^-.  Though  any  detailed  analysis  can  only  be  very 
tentative,  it  appears  likely  that  in  both  sources  the  charge 
directed  the  men  to  consider  both  the  natural  and  the  defen- 
sive character  ot  the  land,  but  perhaps  in  J  the  former,  in  E 
the  latter  point  was  emphasised ;  see  Bacon's  analysis. 

17.  Go  up  theii\  RV.,  wrongly,  "this  way  "  ;  see  phil.  n. — 
Into  the  Negel)\KM ..,  most  confusingly,  "southward";  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  journey  of  the  spies  was  northward,  for 
Hebron  (v.22)  lies  some  70  or  80  miles  N.N.W.  of  Kadesh 


138  NUMBERS 

(v.-").  RV.  renders  "into  the  South,"  the  capital  letttr  beings 
intended  to  warn  the  reader  that  '*  south  "  is  a  technical  term. 
But  the  Hebrew  term  did  not  originally  mean  '*  south,"  but  (cp. 
Aram.  3''JJ)  "dry,"  "parched."  "South"  is  a  secondary  sense 
acquired  by  the  word  {e.£:  35^,  Jos.  11^)  after  settlement  in 
Canaan,  to  the  south  of  which  the  Negeb  lay  ;  just  as  "  west  " 
is  a  secondary  sense  acquired  by  "  the  sea"  (i.e.  the  Mediter- 
ranean), which  lay  W.  of  Canaan.*  The  dry  and  comparatively 
verdureless  country  known  as  the  Negeb  stretched  some  60 
miles  northwards  from  Kadesh ;  the  country  changes  for  the 
better  at  Dhaheriyah,  which  lies  about  half-way  between 
Hebron  and  Beersheba,  and  may  be  taken  as  a  point  on  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  Negeb.  The  whole  district  is  a 
"savage  high  land,"  the  steep  ridges  mostly  running  from 
east  to  west.  Yet  it  is  not  lacking  in  more  fertile  valleys, 
where  even  the  grape  has  been  cultivated  (see  below  on  v.^^). 
In  David's  time  the  Negeb  belonged  to  nomads,  and  supported 
large  flocks  (i  S.  27'^"^^);  the  ruins  discovered  there  are  partly 
prehistoric,  but  mainly  Byzantine.  "South  of  Beersheba, 
for  30  miles,  the  country,  though  mostly  barren,  is  sprinkled 
with  ruins  of  old  villages  gathered  round  wells.  They  date 
mostly  from  Christian  times,  and  are  eloquent  in  their  testi- 
mony to  the  security  which  the  Roman  government  imposed  on 
even  the  most  lawless  deserts."  f  A  list  of  places  in  the  Negeb 
is  given  in  Jos.  1521-32  ^pj_  —  77^^  vioimtai7is\  or  "the  hill 
country"  (inn);  so  ^  I4^'*-**.  This  is  best  taken  as  a  second 
reference  to  the  country  immediately  north  of  Kadesh,  called 
in  the  preceding  clause  Negeb,  and  described  in  the  last  n. 
In  Dt.  i^**  the  country  round  Kadesh  is  called  "  the  hill  country 
of  the  Amorites "  (''"iDxn  nn),  and  it  is  said  of  the  spies  on 
leaving  Kadesh  that  "they  went  up  into  the  hill  country" 
(mnn  l^pii).  It  is  true  that  N.  of  the  Negeb  the  hill  country 
of  Judah  begins,  but  the  absence  of  any  distinctive  term,  and 
the  use  of  the  same  verb  in  this  clause  as  in  the  last,  render  it 

*  W.  R.  Smith,  OTJC.  326. 

t  On  the  Negeb,  see  G.  A.  Smith,  Htst.  Geog.  278-2S6  ;  Buhl,  Geog. 
15^,87-89;  Cheyne,  art.  "  Negeb  "  in  £5/. ;  ^aXmer,  Desert  of  the  Exodus, 
pt.  ii.  c.  v.-vii.  ;  Rowlands  in  Williams'  Holy  City  (1849),  ii.  464-46S. 


XIII.  19-21  139 

unlikely  that  we  have  here  the  work  of  a  writer  who  wished  to 
express  that  the  spies  were  to  pass  through  one  district  and 
into  another. — 19.  Cities]  The  word  (D"'"iyn)  is  used  here,  as  in 
I  S.  6^^,  2  K.  17^,  of  any  inhabited  place.  The  spies  are  to  see 
whether  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  dwell  in  camps  or 
fortified  places.  A  camp  (njno)  was  sometimes  sufficiently 
permanent  to  give  its  name  to  a  place ;  we  know  of  a  Dan's 
camp  (Jud.  13^^)  and  of  Mahanaim  (  =  "the  two  camps  ").  The 
fortified  place  ("iV3?r)  was,  in  the  first  instance,  the  actual  fortress 
or  defensive  work  with  which  a  walled  city  was  provided  ; 
hence  the  full  phrase  for  a  city  so  provided,  "  city  of  fortifica- 
tion or  fortress  "  {-nyo  T-y,  pi.  -)V3i:(n)  nj? ;  32^7. 36^  jej..  45)  ; 
cp.  Nowack,  Arch.  i.  368. — 20.  And  exert  yourselves  to  obtaiji 
some  of  the  fruit  of  the  country]  an  exhortation  to  courage 
implied  by  RV.  is  out  of  place  just  at  this  point ;  for  the  fore- 
g-oing-  translation,  cp.  the  use  of  pTnnn  In  Gn.  48'^  (J). — Now  the 
season  was  the  season  of  firstripe  grapes]  Early  grapes  are  ripe  by 
or  soon  after  the  middle  of  July  :  Seetzen  found  them  on  sale  at 
Acre  on  July  i8th  [Reisen,  ii.  92  ;  cp.  Robinson,  BR.  ii.  100). 

17.  ni  ^h]}'\  The  enclitic  use  of  nJ  is  common  only  after  interrogatives  ; 
but  cp.  with  the  present  the  instances  of  its  use  after  nj,i  i  K.  19^,  Is.  21^, 
Cant.  2^-  ^ — 18.  n'Vy  ac'.i]  so  with  ^v  of  the  land  inhabited,  Lev.  25^8'-  26^^, 
Dt.  30-"  (cp.  I  K.  8-^) ;  in  v.^**^^  we  have  the  far  commoner  cstr.  with  5. — 
nsirt  Kin  pinn]  The  double  n  in  an  indirect  disjunctive  interrogation  is  quite 
exceptional ;  the  other  clauses  in  these  verses  show  the  common  cstr. 
with  CK  .  .  .  n ;  cp.  BDB.  210a  ;  Kon.  iii.  37967. — 19.  njriD]  so  Lev.  5-^, 
Jer.  5^^ ;  both  here  and  in  Lev.  S  has  the  more  usual  [nn  :  see  BDB.  2416  ; 
Kon.  iii.  20. — D':nD3n]  The  pi.  of  nano  without  suffixes  is  elsewhere  always 
rjna.  On  this  and  some  other  grounds  Paterson  judges  '3D3  D.x  D'jnoa.i  to 
be  a  gloss. 

21.  The  spies'  journey  (P). — The  spies  spy  out  the  whole 
land  of  Canaan  (cp.  v.^'^*)  from  the  Wilderness  of  Sin  in  the 
S.  to  Rehob  in  the  N. — Just  as  the  whole  congregation  later  on 
(20^  P),  so  now  the  spies  reach  the  Wilderness  of  Sin  after 
leaving  the  Wilderness  of  Paran  (v.^).  The  former  is  not  part 
of  the  latter  ;  but,  according  to  P,  Kadesh  lay  in  the  Wilder- 
ness of  Sin  (see  20^^  27^*  33^*^,  Dt.  32^^).  Thus  the  district 
from  which,  according  to  JE,  the  spies  started  is,  according 
to  P,  part  of  the  country  which  they  had  to  reconnoitre.     The 


140  NUMBERS 

Wilderness  of  Sin  is  referred  to  elsewhere  as  the  most  southern 
district  of  Israelitish  territory — 34^^',  Jos.  15^-  ^  (P).  The  Rehob 
here  referred  to  is  most  probably  identical  with  the  city  which 
is  mentioned  by  this  name  in  2  S.  10^  (and  under  the  fuller  form 
Beth-Rehob  in  2  S.  lo^  Jud.  iS^s ;  also  in  i  S.  14*^  G^),  and 
which  lay  in  the  far  north  of  the  country  near  to  Laish-Dan. 
Another  Rehob  is  mentioned  in  Jos.  19-^-  ^,  Jud.  i^^  in  the 
territory  of  Asher. — In  the  direction  of  the  entrance  to  Hamath\ 
or,  if  we  may  infer  that  the  whole  phrase  has  become  virtually 
a  proper  name  and  in  the  present  instance  stands  in  apposition 
to  Rehob,  it  may  be  rendered  simply  the  entrance  to  Hamath. 
The  phrase  (non  S3?)  occurs  frequently  in  definitions  of  the 
N.  boundary  of  Canaan  or  of  the  territory  of  Israel  (as  dis- 
ting-uished  from  Judah),  34^,  Jos.  13^  Jud.  3^,  i  K.  8*^, 
2  K.  1425,  Ezek.  48^  (cf.  4720),  Am.  6i*,  i  Ch.  135.  The  city  of 
Hamath  itself  lay  on  the  Orontes,  about  150  miles  N.  of  Dan  ; 
but  its  territory  extended  at  least  as  far  S.  as  Riblah  (2  K.  23^-^ 
25^^),  which  is  50  miles  distant  from  the  city  of  Hamath ; 
"the  entrance  to  Hamath"  is  understood  by  some*  to  be  the 
depression  between  Lebanon  and  Hermon,  which  stretches 
northwards  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Dan,  and  is  described 
by  Robinson  {Later  Bib.  Researches^  p.  499)  as  *'  a  vast  and 
lofty  mountain  cleft  8  or  9  miles  wide  " ;  by  others  t  to  be  the 
plain  of  Homs,  about  30  miles  south  of  the  city  of  Hamath 
(modern  Hama),  but  within  the  ancient  Hamathite  territory. 
If,  as  is  probable,  the  Ha-ma-ti  of  Pap.  Anastasi  i.  [temp. 
Ramses  11.)  be  the  city  so  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Bible, 
we  have  direct  evidence  %  of  its  existence  before  the  entrance 
of  Israel  into  Canaan. 

3m]  =  3m  n-2.  For  such  equivalences,  see  HPN.  p.  i26ff.;  and  for 
suggested  sites  of  Rehob,  Buhl,  Geog.  237,  240. — nsn  N37']  the  use  of  p 
{e.g.  I  K.  8®',  Am.  6"),  or  ly  (Jos.  13^),  or  hdj  ny  (Ezek.  47""),  before  the 
whole  phrase,  shows  that  the  phrase  as  a  whole  had  become  virtually 
equal  to  a  term  for  a  place  or  district.  Originally  ^  may  have  had  a 
local  sense  at,  or  towards. 

*  E.g.  G.  A.  Smith,   Twelve  Prophets,  i.   177  ;  Buhl,  Geog.  pp.  66,  no  ; 
cp.  Driver  on  Amos  6^  and  in  Hastings'  DB.  iv.  269  f 
t  E.g.  Moore,  Jttdges,  p.  80. 
X  W.  M.  Miiller,  Asien  u.  Etiropa,  174,  256, 


XIII.   22  141 

22-24.  The  spies'  journey  (JE). — The  spies  go  up  into  the 
Negeb  and  reach  Hebron,  a  city  built  seven  years  before  So'an, 
where  they  find 'Anakites  dwelHng  [so  far,  probably  J];  they 
come  to  the  nahal  Eshcol  and  take  away  a  great  bunch 
C es/icol— hence  the  name  of  the  place,  v.^^)  of  grapes  and 
other  fruit  [probably  E]. 

22.  And  they  •went  up  into  the  Negeh]  the  sequel  to  v.^^^. 
In  contrast  to  v.^'^^*  ^^  the  land  represented  as  traversed  is  only 
the  south  of  Canaan ;  Hebron  lies  about  ig  miles  S.  of  Jeru- 
salem.— Ahiman^  Sheshai,  and  Talmai,  the  children  of  'Anak\ 
These  were  three  clans  or  individuals,  possibly  of  Aramaean 
origin,  and  popularly  reputed  to  be  of  a  gigantic  height.  The 
gentilic  Sheshai  may  perhaps  represent  the  Shasu  or  Bedawin 
of  Southern  Canaan  so  frequently  mentioned  on  the  Egyptian 
monuments  (Sayce,  Higher  Crit.  and  tJie  Monuments^  i8g). 
On  Talmai,  see  phil.  n. 

The  children  of  'Anak  (p:i?.T  'T*?',  also  v.^,  Jos.  15'*  JE),  called  also 
"the  sons  of  'Anak"  (pjy  '^3  v.^^  Dt.  9^ ;  pjyn  'J3  Jos.  15"%  Jud.  i'",  or, 
with  another  form  of  the  pi.  of  a  compound  expression  (cp.  Dav.  §  15) 
D'pjv  ':3  Dt.  1^8  92),  or  "  Anakites  "  (o'poj?  Dt.  a*"'-  ^S  Jos.  ii^^-  --  i4'2-  i5),were 
a  class  of  very  tall  men,  whose  height  lingered  long  in  the  memory  of  the 
Hebrews.  'Anak — always,  except  in  v.^,  Dt.  9^  with  the  art.  ^'^V'^ — is  (even 
in  Jos.  15^*  21^^  pijyn)  not  a  proper  name  ;  the  phrases  p3j;n  n'"?',  p3j;n  'J3 
D'p:v  "i3  are  of  the  same  type  as  '?'nn  'ja  =  "  mighty  men,"  n3:n  '33  = 
"foreigners,"  and  if  pjy  has  in  the  phrase  the  same  sense  which  it  bears 
elsewhere  in  Hebrew  will  mean  "(long-)  necked  people."  Another  term, 
similar  in  form  to  that  here  used,  for  the  giants  of  popular  tradition  was 
nann  'tV'  2  S.  2\^^-'^^,  or  Ksnn  n'^'  1  Ch.  20^;  cp.  Dt.  2^^  The  'Anakites 
are  generally  associated  with  Hebron  ;  but  in  a  late  passage  (Jos.  1 1^"- 
D-)  they  are  represented  as  scattered  over  the  mountain  country  of  Israel 
and  Judah,  whence  they  were  exterminated  by  Joshua,  except  for  a  few 
who  survived  in  Gaza,  Gath,  and  Ashdod.  It  is  not  easy  to  separate  the 
historical  and  mythological  elements  connected  with  this  and  other  notices 
in  OT.  of  the  giants  that  lived  in  the  country  before  the  entry  of  Israel. 
Certainly  some  of  the  terms  for  giants  seem  to  be  of  a  mythological  char- 
acter;  see  Schwally,  Ueber  einige  palastinische  Volkerna?nen'm  ZATW. 
xviii.  126-148;  and  on  the  origin  of  tales  of  giants,  Tylor,  Primitive  Cul- 
ture, i.  385  ff.  Stories  of  other  peoples  about  the  gigantic  size  of  the  former 
inhabitants  of  their  countries  will  be  found  collected  in  Lenormant,  Les 
Origines  de  VHistoire,  i.  pp.  349-355.  There  is,  of  course,  nothing  intrinsic- 
ally improbable  in  the  existence  in  Hebron  of  three  individuals  famous 
for  their  height ;  but  v.^^*"'  ^  attribute  a  gigantic  size  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  country  in  general  in  terms  which  plainly  cannot  be  accepted  in  a 
literal  sense  as  corresponding  to  fact. 


142  NUMBERS 

22b.  The  date  of  the  building  of  So'an — the  Tanis  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  a  city  situated  in  the  E.  part  of  the 
Delta,  near  to  the  coast  of  Lake  Menzaleh — is  unknown  ;  but 
it  was  a  city  of  great  antiquity,  at  least  as  old  as  the  12th  and 
perhaps  as  old  as  the  6th  dynasty,  i.e.  it  was  in  any  case  built 
before  2000  B.C.  It  was  rebuilt  at  the  beginning  of  the  19th 
dynasty,  and  some  have  thought  that  this  rebuilding  is  alluded 
to  here.  Failing  knowledge  of  the  origin  and  value  of  the 
present  statement  and  early  monumental  allusions  to  Hebron, 
we  cannot  exactly  determine  its  antiquity ;  but  it  certainly 
seems  of  pre-Israelitish  origin.  It  is  quite  unnecessary  to 
derive  the  name  from  the  Habiri  of  the  Tel  el-Amarna  tablets, 
and  so  make  it  later  in  origin  or  refoundation  (Sayce)  than  the 
presence  of  these  people  in  Canaan.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
identification  of  Hebron  with  the  Khibur  (Sayce)  of  Ramses 
iii.'s  list  is  hazardous.*  So'an  is  frequently  mentioned  else- 
where in  OT.  (Is.  19^1-13304,  Ezek.  30^*,  Ps.  yS^^-^s).  Prom 
the  fact  that  it  is  here  coupled  with  Hebr(?n,  Flinders  Petrie 
infers  that  "the  building  must  refer  to  a  settlement  b}?^ 
Shemites  and  not  by  Egyptians"  [Tanis,  p.  4). — 23.  The 
Wady  Eshcol  has  not  been  identified,  though  various  incon- 
clusive hypotheses  have  been  put  forward.  There  is  a  Wady 
Bit  Iskiihil  N.W.  of  Hebron  (Buhl,  Geog.  89).  But  even  the 
generally  accepted  conclusion  that  the  Wady  Eshcol  must  be 
one  of  the  valleys  near  Hebron  is  uncertain  ;  for  in  the  only 
other  passages  where  the  Wady  Eshcol  is  referred  to  (32^,  Dt. 
i^*)  it  is  not  associated  with  Hebron ;  and  in  the  present 
passage  the  proximity  of  the  references  to  the  two  places  may 
be  merely  due  to  a  compiler:  see  above,  p.  133  f.  The  late 
Midrashic  story  in  Gn.  i^^  in  its  association  of  Mamre  [i.e. 
Hebron)  and  Eshcol  may  very  well  be  dependent  on  the  pre- 
sent compilation  (JE).  The  valleys  and  hillsides  round  Hebron 
are,  it  is  true,  all  rich  in  excellent  vines.  "The  vineyards 
belonging  to  the  city  are  very  extensive  .  .  .  covering  the 
sides  of  nearly  all  the  hills.  .  .  .  The  produce  of  these  vine- 

*  See  Bible  Dictionaries,  s.v.  Hebron,  Zoan  ;  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog. 
318  n.  I  ;  Sayce,  Higher  Crit.  and  the  Monuments,  187-192,  333  f-j  34'  : 
Flinders  Petrie,  Tanis  (Memoir  of  Eg-ypt.  Exploration  Fund,  1885), 


XIII.  22,  24  143 

yards  is  celebrated  throughout  Palestine  "  (Robinson,  BR.  ii. 
pp.  442,  445).  "  Pomegranates  and  figs  as  well  as  apricots, 
quinces,  and  the  like  still  grow  there  \i.e.  in  the  valley  near 
Hebron,  identified  by  Robinson  with  Eshcol]  in  abundance  " 
[lb.  i.  316).  But  grapes  might  also  have  been  found  in  wadies 
among  the  hill  country  that  lay  between  Kadesh  and  Hebron ; 
for  traces  of  grape  culture  were  found  in  many  places  far  south 
of  Hebron  by  Palmer ;  *  and  'Anab,  a  place  some  14  miles 
S.S.W.  of  Hebron,  may  have  derived  its  name  from  grapes 
grown  there.! — A  branch 'with  a  single  cluster  of  grapes\  stories 
of  heavy  clusters  of  grapes  found  in  Palestine  are  told  by 
Reland,  Paldstina,  i.  p.  351,  and  Rosenmiiller  in  his  Scholia 
on  this  passage. — And  they  carried  it  away  on  a  frame  [borne) 
by  two]  " frame "  rather  than  "staff"  (RV.)  is  the  meaning 
of  £310;  see  phil.  n.  on  4^^. — And  some  of  the  pomegranates  and 
some  of  the  figs]  Pomegranates  and  figs  grow  round  Hebron 
(see  above),  but  this  can  scarcely  be  the  southern  limit  of  their 
culture.  Palmer  [op.  cit.)  sees  no  difficulty  on  this  ground  in 
identifying  Wady  Eshcol  with  the  Wady  Hanein,  not  so  far 
N.  of  Kadesh.  Some  of  the  places  called  Rimmon,  or  by  a 
name  containing  Rimmon,  may  recall  pomegranate  culture  in 
this  southern  region,  though  they  may,  it  is  true,  contain 
the  name  of  the  god  Rimmon  [EBi.  s.v.  "Names,"  §§  103, 
95). — 24.  The  great  cluster,  according  to  the  story,  gave 
its  name  to  the  valley ;  perhaps  rather  the  name  of  the 
valley  gave  rise  to  the  story  (cp.   ii^  n.). 

22.  N3;i]  rather  with  S  (S  5  F,  pi.  Nh;i.  The  exegesis  which  either 
occasioned  or  resulted  from  MT.  is  represented  by  Rashi — "  Caleb  alone 
went  thither  {i.e.  to  Hebron)  and  threw  himself  down  on  the  graves  of  the 
fathers,  that  he  might  not  be  seduced  by  his  companions  to  be  of  their 
counsel."  That  only  Caleb  went  to  Hebron  was  suggested  by  Dt.  i^®, 
Jud.  I-". — 'D^n]  the  name  also  appears  as  that  of  a  kingof  Geshur,  2  S.  3^ ; 
cp.  the  Nabatsean  n.  pr.  is'^n  CIS.  ii.  321,  344,  348.  — D'niJD  \]i^]  For  the 
proper  name  in  the  cstr.,  see  Dav.  24,  R.  6. — 23.  "inx  D*3:y  ^db-xi]  CJ  +  .t'jj;  ; 
if  ^  be  the  true  text  the  1  in  hy^sm  is  the  "  waw  of  association"  (BDB. 
253a). — U':v2  .  .  .  inxc'i]  "they  carried  it  as  two,  two  at  a  time"  :  Kijn 
ill.  332W. 

•  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  351-353,  367,  373  f.,  411,  51a. 
t  EBi.  s.v.  "  Names,"  §  103. 


144  NUMBERS 

25,  26.  The  return  of  the  spies  (JE  P)._V.25  and  ^ 
(except  ntJ'np  and,  perhaps,  1D^"'l)  P — forty  days  after  starting- 
the  spies  return  to  the  wilderness  of  Paran ;  v.-^^  JE — they 
bring-  back  a  report  to  Kadesh,  and  display  the  fruit  brought 
home  as  a  sample  of  the  products  of  the  land. 

Nold.  (p.  76)  suggests  the  following  restoration  :  for  P  Vni  nee  Vx  1X2*1 
px£j  -)2'\D  hi<  hif\v  'J3  my  h^  hi(^  pna  ;  for  JE  mx  13'B''i  nc-p  ntro  hx  ^zh'^ 
{'ixn  na  rx  inixTi  nan.  The  changes  of  mx  to  cnx  and  i.nxTi  to  dixti  are  thus 
redactional.  The  last  clause  of  v.^®  (cp.  v.^)  and  the  phrase  cnx  la'iyi 
t2-\  (cp.  Gn.  37^^,  Nu.  22*,  Jos.  14''  (E),  and,  hence,  Dt.  i^^-  ^^  Jos.  22'' — so 
Di.)  may  be  ultimately  referred  to  E.  nvip  is  secured  to  JE,  even  though 
indirectly,  by  the  references  in  32^,  Dt.  1^',  Jos.  14"*.  P  places  i^adesh 
north  of  the  wilderness  of  Paran  (see  on  10^*  and  c  20).  Bacon  in  Heb- 
raica,  xi.  234  fF.,  ultimately  refers  ns'ip  to  J,  thus  correcting  the  analysis  in 
his  Triple  Tradition, 

26.  Kadesh]  'Ain  Kadis,  50  miles  S.  of  Beersheba.  The 
identification  suggested  more  than  half  a  century  ago  by  John 
Rowlands*  was  finally  established  by  Clay  Trumbull,  whose 
work,  Kadesh-Bamea  (1884),  contains  an  account  and  criticism 
of  earlier  identifications;  see,  further,  Guthe  in  ZDPV.  viii. 
182  fF.,  and  the  new  Bible  Dictionaries. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  Clay  Trumbull's  description  of  the  place 
(pp.  272-274) :  "The  long-sought  wells  of  Qadees  [Kadis]  were  before  our 
eyes  .  .  . :  out  from  the  barren  and  desolate  stretch  of  the  burning  desert- 
waste  we  had  come  with  magical  suddenness  into  an  oasis  of  verdure 
and  beauty,  unlocked  for  and  hardly  conceivable  in  such  a  region.  A 
carpet  of  grass  covered  the  ground.  Fig  trees,  laden  with  fruit  nearly 
ripe  enough  for  eating,  were  along  the  shelter  of  the  southern  hillside. 
Shrubs  and  flowers  showed  themselves  in  variety  and  profusion.  Running 
water  gurgled  under  the  waving  grass.  .  .  .  Standing  out  from  the  earth- 
covered  limestone  hills  at  the  north-eastern  sweep  of  this  picturesque 
recess  was  to  be  seen  the  'large  single  mass,  or  a  small  hill,  of  solid  rock,' 
which  Rowlands  looked  at  as  the  cliff  (Sel'a)  smitten  by  Moses.  .  .  .  From 
underneath  this  ragged  spur  of  the  north-easterly  mountain  range,  issued 
the  now  abundant  stream.  A  circular  well,  stoned  up  from  the  bottom 
with  time-worn  limestone  blocks,  was  the  first  receptacle  of  the  water. 
.  .  .  The  mouth  of  this  well  was  only  about  three  feet  across  it,  and  the 
water  came  to  within  three  or  four  feet  of  the  top.  A  little  distance 
westerly  from  this  well,  and  down  the  slope,  was  a  second  well,  stoned-up 
much  like  the  first,  but  of  greater  diameter.  .  .  .  A  basin  or  pool  of  water 
larger  than  either  of  the  wells,  but  not  stoned-up  like  them,  was  seemingly 

*  See  his  letter  in  Williams'  Holy  City  (1849),  ii   466-468. 


xiii.  25-27  145 

the  principal  watering'-^ace.  It  was  a  short  distance  south-westerly  from 
the  second  well,  and  it  looked  as  if  it  and  the  two  wells  might  be  supplied 
from  the  same  subterranean  source  —  the  springs  under  the  rock.  .  .  . 
Another  and  yet  larger  pool,  lower  down  the  slope,  was  supplied  with 
water  by  a  stream  which  rippled  and  cascaded  along  its  narrow  bed  from 
the  upper  pool.  ,  .  .  The  water  itself  was  remarkably  pure  and  sweet. 
.  .  .  There  was  a  New  England  look  to  this  oasis,  especially  to  the  flowers 
and  grass  and  weeds.  .  .  .  Bees  were  humming  there,  and  birds  were 
flitting  from  tree  to  tree.  Enormous  ant-hills  made  of  green  grass  seed, 
instead  of  sand,  were  numerous.  As  we  came  into  the  wady  we  had 
started  up  a  rabbit,  and  had  seen  larks  and  quails."  G.  L.  Robinson 
{Bibl.  World,  May  190 1,  326-338)  gives  a  plan,  several  photographs,  and 
a  description  of  Kadesh  as  seen  in  1900. 

A7id  they  brought  back  word  unto  them]  i.e.  to  Moses  and 
Aaron.  But  in  the  original  source  either  the  pronoun  both 
here  and  in  the  next  clause  was  sing".,  referring  to  Moses  (cp. 
V.-'',  Jos.  14^),  or  the  pi.  referred  to  the  whole  people  (cp. 
Dt.  i^^-  2^). — And  all  the  congregation\  a  gloss,  or  an  editorial 
addition;  on  "congregation"  (my))  see  phil.  n.  on  i^. 

27-31.  The  report  of  the  spies  (JE). 

This  report  is  interrupted,  if  not  by  v.^'  and  v.^"'*  (possibly  a  note  of 
the  narrator's  and  a  misplaced  fragment  of  JE  respectively),  at  least  by 
v.^'-^ — P's  account  of  the  report.     It  is  continued  in  v.^-^*^*. 

The  spies  report  to  Moses  that  the  land  is  good  and  fruit- 
ful, but  invincible  owing  to  the  strength  of  the  inhabitants  and 
their  cities. 

27.  And  they  told  hint]  i.e.  Moses :  see  v.^^  n.  V.^^  is 
hardly  the  original  sequel  to  v.^^''  in  its  present  form. — The 
land  whither  thou  sentest  us\  the  Negeb  (v.^''''),  and  in  particular 
the  neighbourhood  of  Hebron,  on  the  fertility  of  which  see 
y  22f.  j^j-j^ — ji  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey]  14^  16^*  (ex- 
ceptionally of  Egypt)  1^,  Ex.  3^-  ^'^  135  33^  (all,  according  to 
CH.  34,  passages  from  J),  7  times  in  D,  once  in  H  (Lev. 
20^*),  and  also  in  Jer.  11^  32^^,  Ezek.  20^- ^^f.  Cheyne  (in 
EBi.  2104)  suggests  that  the  phrase,  already  conventional  in 
the  time  of  JE,  was  derived  from  ancient  poetry,  and  had  a 
mythological  origin.  * — Here  is  the  fruit  thereof]  cp.  v.^*'-  ^S-  2Gb^ — 

•  Cp.  Stade  in  ZATW.  xxii.  (1902)  321-324.      With  the  Greeks  (H. 
Usener  in  Rhein.  Museum  f.  Phil..  1902,  1 77-195)  "  milk  and  honey  "  is  a 
phrase  for  the  food  of  the  gods. 
10 


146  NUMBERS 

28.  And  the  ciiies  are  fortified,  very  large]  c^.Y^t.  i-^,  Jos.  14^-, 
and  the  terms  of  the  charge  in  v.^^. — The  children  of  'Anak] 
v,22,  Dt.  i28,  Jos.  1412.-29.  The  distribution  of  the  different 
peoples  in  the  land.  The  v.  coheres  somewhat  loosely  with 
the  context,  and,  naturally  interpreted,  refers  to  a  much  greater 
extent  of  country  than  is  contemplated  in  the  charge  of  v.^'^^, 
or  is  reported  to  have  been  investigated  in  either  v. 22  (J)  or 
v.23f-  (E) :  cp.  v.2'^^-.  It  may  well  be  an  editorial  remark. 
Even  if  an  original  part  of  either  of  the  prophetic  sources 
(J  or  E),  it  seems  best  taken  as  a  remark  of  the  narrator 
rather  than  as  a  part  of  the  report.  The  meaning  of  the  v.  as 
it  stands  appears  to  be — the  Negeb  was  inhabited  by  *Amale- 
kites ;  the  mountainous  country,  that  forms  the  centre  of 
Palestine,  by  Hittites,  Jebusites,  and  Amorites ;  the  coast  of 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  Jordan  valley  lying  respectively  on 
either  side  of  the  mountains,  by  Canaanites  :  cp.  Jos.  1 1^. 

Although  the  extent  of  "mountain"  is  not  defined,  and  might,  there- 
fore, be  limited  to  the  mountains  of  Judah,  so  that  this  detail  would 
harmonise  with  the  view  of  JE  that  the  journey  of  the  spies  was  limited  to 
the  Negeb  and  the  mountains  round  about  and  S.  of  Hebron,  yet  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  mountain  country  among  three  different  peoples,  and  the 
threefold  division  of  the  v/hole  land  into  negeb,  mountain,  and  lowland, 
point  to  a  greater  extent  of  country,  and  indeed  to  the  whole  territory 
subsequently  occupied  by  the  Hebrews.  If  this  be  the  actual  intention  of 
the  V.  it  must  be  attributed  to  a  late  editor  influenced  by  a  view  of  the 
incident  of  the  spies  identical  with  or  approximating  to  that  of  P  (see  on 
v.'*').  It  has  been  very  generally*  recognised  that  the  catalogues  of  pre- 
Israelitish  inhabitants  of  Canaan  which  recur  so  frequently  (in  the  Hexa- 
teuch— Gn.  lo'^-i''  1512-21,  Ex.  38-  "  138  2323-28  332  3^11^  Qf  7'  20",  Jos.  5^" 
9I  11^  12^  24I1 ;  outside  the  Hexateuch — Jud.  3',  1  K.  9-",  Ezr.  9I,  Neh.  9") 
formed  no  part  of  the  earlier  sources,  but  are  the  work  of  D  or  writers 
influenced  by  that  school.  The  multiplication  of  names  in  these  catalogues 
was  intended  to  magnify  the  greatness  ot  Israel's  conquest ;  neither  the 
choice  of  the  particular  names  nor  the  order,  which  varies  greatly,  in 
which  the  names  are  placed  have  any  geographical  or  ethnographical 
reason.  Is  this  v.  of  similar  origin?  If  so,  the  probable  discrepancy  be- 
tween it  and  v."**-  ^"'^  and  the  difficulties  which  arise  when  we  attempt  to 
harmonise  its  statements  with  what  is  said  elsewhere  of  the  various  peoples 
mentioned,  are  accounted  for ;  so,  too,  is  the  conflict  of  opinion  as  to  the 
source  of  this  v.  Di.,  Bacon,  CH.,  for  example,  assign  it  to  E,  but  on 
inadequate  grounds:  for  3J:n  y.a  is  used  by  J  (Gn.   24*^,  cp.  Jos.   151^, 

•See,  especially,  Budde,  Urgeschichte,  p.  344  ff.  5  cp.  Driver  on 
Dt.  7I. 


XIII.  28,  29  147 

Jud,  1^5)  as  certainly  as  by  E  (Gn.  20');  there  is  nothing  peculiarly  charac- 
teristic of  E  in  describing' some  particular />rt^/ of  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan 
as  Amorite  ;  and,  though  it  be  granted  that  14^^  be  J,  and  13-"  not  from 
the  same  hand,  this  does  not  prove  the  latter  to  be  E.  The  remaining 
point  cited  by  CH. — the  use  of  T  hv,  cp.  Ex.  2^ — by  itself  is  too  slight  a 
proof.  Meyer  and  Budde  assign  the  v. ,  with  the  exception  of  its  middle 
clause,  which  on  account  of  its  mixture  of  ethnographical  terms  they  con- 
sider redactorial,  to  J,  on  the  ground  that  ':j;3D  is  used  in  J's  sense  as  a 
collective  term  for  all  the  inhabitants  of  Palestine.  But  this  conclusion 
rests  on  the  highly  questionable  assumption  that  the  last  clause  of  the  v. 
is  a  definition  of  the  whole  country  by  its  two  boundaries — the  Mediter- 
ranean and  Jordan.  Had  this  been  intended  the  text  would  more  natur- 
ally have  run  prn  nyi  D'.tjd  3b"  'jv:3ni. 

'Amalek  7oas  dwelling  in  the  land  of  tJie  Negeh]  If  treated 
as  part  of  the  report  the  words  must  be  rendered  'Amalek 
dwelleth  ,  .  .  The  'Amalekites  were  a  race  of  nomads  who 
were  particularly  associated  with  the  deserts  to  the  S.  ot 
Palestine  (cp.  i  S.  15,  30).  See,  further,  on  24^".  —  T/?e 
Hittites\  a  powerful,  non  -  Semitic  people  called  H-t4,  who 
appear  to  have  come  from  Cappadocia,  are  frequently  men- 
tioned in  Egyptian  inscriptions  of  the  iSth,  19th,  and  20th 
dynasties.  When  they  are  first  mentioned  [temp.  Thothmes 
III.,  c.  1500  B.C.),  the  southern  limit  of  their  empire  seems  to 
have  lain  in  the  district  of  Kommagene,  i.e.  well  to  the  N.  of 
Carchemish.  Later,  they  pressed  somewhat  farther  south- 
ward, but  never  apparently  beyond  the  upper  Orontes  valley 
in  this  direction.*  The  Tel  el-Amarna  tablets  {c.  1400)  and 
the  Assyrian  inscriptions!  (from  Tiglath  Pileser  i.,  c.  iioo,  to 
Sargon,  721-704  B.C.)  agree  in  confining  the  Hittites  (Hatti  = 
Egyp.  H-ti  =  Heb.  Tin)  to  N.  Syria.  This  northern  home  of 
the  Hittites  is  familiar  to  some,  and  especially  the  earlier,  OT. 
writers:  see  Jud.  i^^  3^  (read  "Hittites"  for  "Hivites"), 
3  S.  24^  (read  instead  of  "to  the  land  of  Tahtim- hodshi," 
"to  the  land  of  the  Hittites,  to  Kadesh,"  i.e.  Kadesh  on  the 
Orontes),  i  K.  lo^^,  2  K.  7^.  On  the  other  hand,  later  writers, 
particularly  P  (Gn.  23^*^  25^  26^*  49^^^-  50^^)  and  perhaps  Ezekiel 
(16^),  locate  a  Hittite  population  in  South  Palestine  (Hebron) ; 
early  writers  speak  of  individual  Hittites  resident  in  the  South 

*  Max  Miiller,  Asien  u.  Etiropa,  pp.  319-324. 
t  Cp.  Schradcr,  COT.'''  107  ff. 


148  NUMBERS 

(i  S.  26^,  2  S.  11^) ;  and  these  individuals  have  Semitic  names 
(Uriah,  Ahimelech).  The  present  passag^e,  like  P,  ascribes  a 
southern  or  central  Palestinian  home  to  a  Hittite  population. 
The  explanations  possible  are:  (i)  there  was  a  more  or  less 
unimportant  Semitic  tribe,  called  in  Hebrew  Hittite,  which  had 
no  connection  with  the  non-Semitic  Hittites  of  the  inscriptions, 
and  of  which  we  have  at  present  no  information  from  other 
than  biblical  sources  ;  or  (2)  the  Hittites  located  by  the  biblical 
writers  in  S.  Palestine  are  isolated  settlements  of  the  great 
Hittite  race ;  or  (3)  the  term  Hittite  was  used  loosely  and 
inaccurately  by  later  Hebrew  writers  in  reference  to  the  pre- 
Israelitish  inhabitants  of  Canaan  in  general.  The  reference  to 
individual  Hittites  with  Semitic  names  in  early  Hebrew  sources 
may  be  thought  to  favour  the  first  alternative,  which,  at  any 
rate,  seems  preferable  to  the  second  ;  the  third  (cp.  Jos.  i*)  is 
that  more  generally  adopted  by  modern  scholars.*  If  the  third 
be  correct,  we  should  have  a  parallel  to  the  late  Hebrew  usage 
in  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  of  the  8th  cent.  B.C.,  where  *'  land 
of  Hatti"  is  used  of  Palestine  in  general  (Schrader,  COT.'^ 
p.  108).  —  The  febusite\  the  Jebusites  were  a  local  tribe  in 
possession  of  Jerusalem  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  (Jos.  15'^^, 
Jud.  1^1),  and  in  the  time  of  David  till  expelled  by  that  king 
(2  S.  5^^).  No  reference  to  them  on  inscriptions  has  yet  been 
found ;  but,  so  far  as  the  scanty  data  afforded  by  the  biblical 
sources  admit  of  a  conclusion,  they  appear  to  have  been 
Semites.!  —  The  Amorite]  the  name  (nr^s)  is  identical  with 
the  'A-ma-ra  of  the  Egyptian  inscriptions  and  the  'Amurru 
of  the  Tel  el- Amarna  tablets.  In  the  15th  and  14th  centuries 
B.C.  these  Amorites  of  the  inscriptions  are  a  people  living  in 
the  north  of  Palestine  and  still  further  north,  Kadesh  on  the 

*  Budde,  UrgeschicJite,  p.  347 ;  Max  Miiller,  Asien  u.  Europa,  p.  319 
n.  I  ;  Stade,  Geschichte  des  Volkes  Israel,  i.  143  n,  i  (cp.  Schrader,  COT.^ 
no;  Meyer  in  ZATW.  i.  p.  125).  The  second  of  the  above-mentioned 
alternatives  is  adopted  in  some  measure  by  Di.  (Gettesis,^  p.  191),  who,  how- 
ever, admits  that  "  Hittite  "  was  used  by  P  and  Ezekiel  for  all  Canaanite 
peoples,  and  Sayce  {Early  Hist,  of  the  Hebrews,  pp.  54-56  ;  yet  see  p.  56, 
bottom,  and  art.  "Hittite"  in  DB.').  Cp.  Kittel,  Gesch.  der  Hebr.  i.  21, 
and  Jastrow's  art.  in  EBi.  (argues  in  favour  of  (i)  above). 

t  Dr.  in  DB.  s.v.  "  Jebusite  "  ;  G.  A.  Smith  in  £Bi.  s.v.  "Jerusalem," 
§13- 


XIII.  29  149 

Orontes  being  a  principal  town  ot  theirs  in  the  time  of  the 
19th  dynasty.  In  the  Bible  the  term  is  used  specifically  of  the 
kingdoms  of 'Og  and  Sihon  on  the  E.  of  Jordan  (Nu.  2i^^-  -^) ; 
but  also  and  generally  of  the  pre-Israelitish  inhabitants  of 
Canaan  W.  of  Jordan.  This  latter  usage  is  characteristic  of 
E  and  D  (as  against  J,  who  regularly  uses  "Canaanite"  in- 
stead) :  see  also  Am.  2°^-,  Is.  17^  (^).  Apparently  we  have 
the  same  usage  here,  and  certainly  no  data  at  present  known 
suffice  to  determine  any  special  district  of  the  highlands  of 
W.  Canaan  marked  off  as  "Amorite"  from  other  districts 
occupied  by  "Hittites"  and  *' Jebusites."  If,  however, 
"Hittites"  is  also  used  in  this  general  sense  (see  above), 
the  combination  of  terms  (cp.  Jos.  11^)  in  the  present  clause 
is  curious ;  we  have  two  general  terms  for  all  pre-Israelitish 
inhabitants  of  the  country  and  one  purely  local  name  (Jebu- 
site) ;  and  thus  to  some  extent  this  verse  shares  the  rhetorical 
character  of  the  catalogues  of  Canaanite  nations  referred  to 
above.  The  Amorites  are  elsewhere  connected  with  the  hill- 
country,  e.g.  Dt.  ii9f-44.  but  see  Jud.  i^*. 

On  the  Amorites  in  the  Egyptian  Inscriptions,  see  Max  Miiller,  Asien 
u.  Europa,  p.  177  and  c.  xvii. ;  in  the  Tel  el-Ainarna  tablets,  KB.  v. 
Index,  s.v.  "Amurru";  Jastrow  in  EBi.  s.v.  "  Canaan,"  §  10;  on  the 
biblical  usage,  Meyer  in  ZATW.  i.  122  ff.;  Badde,  Urgeschic/ife,  p.  345  f.; 
Driver,  Deut.  p.  1 1  f.  ;  cp.  Max  Miiller,  op.  cit.  pp.  229-233 ;  and  see  the 
Bible  Dictionaries,  s.v.  '*  Amorites." 

And  the  Canaanite  was  dwelling  beside  the  sea  (z.e.  the 
Mediterranean)  and  alo7ig  the  Jordati\  Here,  in  direct  contra- 
diction to  14^^  (cp.  notes  on  i^-^-^^)  but  in  agreement  with 
Dt.  i7  iiSOj  Jos.  5I  133^-  (all  D2),  Zeph.  2^,  the  Canaanites  are 
described  as  lowlanders,  and  more  especially  as  inhabitants 
of  the  western  lowlands.  The  name  has,  indeed,  very  gener- 
ally been  interpreted  to  mean  "lowlander,"  though  for  reasons 
not  beyond  criticism.*  With  the  present  usage  we  may 
compare  the  use  of  Ki-na-ah-hi  (  =  J?:d)  and  Ki-na-ah-ni 
( =  jy^a)  in  the  Tel  el-Amarna  tablets,  if  Jastrow  is  right  in 
limiting  these  to  "the  northern  'lowland'  or  seacoast"  [EBi. 
641).  W.  M.  Miiller  {Asien  u.  Europa,  p.  206)  infers  that 
•  Moore  in  PAOS.  1890,  pp.  Ixvii-lxx. 


150  NUMBERS 

in  certain  Egfyptian  Inscriptions  the  g-eog-raphical  term  refers 
especially  to  the  coast -land,  whereas  ethnographically 
"Canaanite"  was  used,  as  among  OT  writers  by  J,  of  all 
inhabitants  of  the  country  W.  of  Jordan.  But  whether  the 
present  notice  preserves  a  reminiscence  of  the  ancient  seats 
of  the  Canaanites,  or  is  based  on  the  actual  condition  o." 
things  when  centuries  of  Hebrew  occupation  of  the  country 
had  forced  the  Canaanites  back  to  the  lowlands,  must  be  left 
an  open  question.* 

30.  The  counter-report  of  Caleb  (JE). — Caleb  stills  the 
people,  and  encourages  them  to  go  up  and  conquer  the  land. 
The  V.  seems  out  of  place  ;  for  the  commotion  of  the  people 
to  which  it  refers  is  not  mentioned  till  14^. — And  Caleb 
silenced  the  murmurings  of  the  people  agamst  (^X)  Moses,  and 
said  to  the  people  (or  to  him,  i.e.  Moses — so  distinctly  S  (i?), 
G)  loe  ought  to  go  up  (cp.  v.^'^^)  and  take  it,  viz.  the  land,  in 
possession,  f 01  "we  certainly  can  prove  too  mtich  for  it. — 31.  B7it 
the  men  wJio  went  vp  with  Caleb  reiterate  that  the  people  are 
too  strong  (p?n,  cp.  v.^^;  ct.  v.-^  \V)  to  be  overcome.  Both 
this  and  the  preceding  v.,  as  also  14^*,  are  inconsistent  with 
P's  story  that  Joshua  was  one  of  the  spies,  and  that  he 
supported  Caleb  against  the  others  (v.^-^^  14^-^).  Instead  of 
fusing  the  two  accounts  of  the  minority  report,  I3^'"-  ■I4^'-,  the 
editor  has  preferred  to  separate  them  irom  one  another  at 
the  cost  of  a  logical  sequence  in  the  narrative ;  the  result  in 
the  composite  narrative  is  a  longer  altercation  than  either  of 
the  main  sources  presented.  The  position  of  i^^^^-  in  JE 
may  rather  have  been  after  14*. 

28.  pK3  3:"n  ci'n  ij;]  with  3  a:r'  cp.  v. '8,  and  ct.  Sy  nc"  in  v.".  With  ty 
ct.  pin  in  v.'**. — 29.  'nnm]  S  ffi  +  'inm — another  term  that  frequently  appears 
in  the  rhetorical  catalogues  of  the  peoples  of  Canaan. — T  "71?]  cp.  Ex. 
2'^  (E) ;  for  T  of  the  side  or  bank  of  a  stream,  see  especially  Dt.  2*',  and, 
in  the  pi.,  Jud.  11^*  pnx  'T  h]}  "ib'.<«  u'-\v^. — 30.  on^i]  an  apocopated  Hiphil 
form  from  the  prep,  on  ;  cp.  the  inflection  as  an  imperative  in  Neh.  8-'. 

*  For  the  data  and  the  theories  to  which  they  have  given  rise,  see 
Meyer,  ZATW,  i.  pp.  122-127  (but  cp.  iii.  p.  306-9);  Budde,  Vrgeschichte, 
346  fT.;  W.  IMax  Miiller,  Asien  u.  Europa,  pp.  205-208  ;  the  Tel  el-Amama 
tablets  as  quoted  above;  Buhl,  Geographie,  p.  64 f.;  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist. 
Gfog.  p.  4f. ;  Alcove,  Judges,  pp.  79,  81  ;  Driver,  Deut.  p.  11. 


XIII.  30-33  151 

32a.  The  report  of  the  spies  (P). — The  spies,  with  the 
exception  of  Joshua  and  Caleb  {i/\P'''),  spread  abroad  among' 
the  people  the  unfavourable  report  that  the  land  was  barren. — 
A7id  ihey  uttered\  X''i"in  as  in  Job  8^*^,  Eccl.  5^  of  the  bringing- 
forth  of  speech:  cp.  also  Dt.  22^*. — An  evil  report]  the  word 
nm  always  has  a  sinister  sense,  whether,  as  here  and  in  the 
same  phrase  in  142^- ^'^f,  it  is  used  of  a  false  report,  or,  as  in 
Gn.  372  (P)  and  probably  also  in  Ezek.  36^,  Pr.  25^",  of  the  true 
report  of  evil  doings. — The  land]  i.e.  the  whole  land  of  Canaan  : 
cp.  v.^^. — Through  which  ive  have  passed]  the  same  Hebrew 
phrase  (n3  "IJi^y)  is  differently  rendered  by  RV.  in  14'^. — A  land 
(hat  eateth  up  its  inhabitants]  i.e.  does  not  produce  enough  to 
support  them  ;  see  Ezek.  36^^'-,  the  point  of  which  passage 
is — Judaea,  devastated  by  its  conquerors,  and  rendered  in 
consequence  infertile  during  the  Exile,  ate  up  its  inhabitants  ; 
but  Yahweh  is  about  to  restore  the  fertility  of  the  land  (cp. 
v,8. 11. 80j^  and  then  it  will  no  more  eat  up  its  inhabitants. 
The  context  in  Ezek.  renders  the  meaning  of  the  phrase 
clear;  and  so,  in  the  present  case,  does  the  antithesis  in  14^ 
— the  land  is  very  good,  i.e.  a  very  fertile  land.  The  same 
metaphor  is  used  in  Lev.  26^. 

32b,  33.  The  report  of  the  spies  (JE),  in  continuation  of 
y  2S(29) — ^11  i-i^g  inhabitants  of  the  land  are  very  tali  (cp. 
Am.  2°'-),  but  in  particular  the  Nephilim,  compared  with  whom 
the  spies  had  seemed  to  themselves  mere  grasshoppers.  In 
v.^  the  'Anakites,  here  the  Nephilim,  are  singled  out  for 
special  mention. — The  sons  of  ' Anak  are  some  of  the  Nephilini] 
The  clause  is  certainly  parenthetic,  and  probably  a  gloss  ;  it  is 
omitted  in  (5;  the  "sons  of  'Anak"  (pjj?  ^32)  is  a  different 
phrase  from  that  used  in  v. 22-  2s  (p^y^,  it«^i),  and  only  occurs 
again  in  Dt.  9^.  The  etymology  of  CPSJ  is  far  too  uncertain 
to  add  anything  to  what  can  be  gathered  from  this  and  the 
only  other  passage  (Gn.  6^)  in  the  OT.  where  the  word  occurs, 
as  to  the  Hebrew  legends  about  the  class  of  giants  called 
Nephilim.  Several  etymological  speculations  are  cited  and 
criticised  by  Di.  on  Gn.  6^;  see  also  Schwally,  Das  Leben 
nach  dem  Tode,  p.  65  ;  and  for  a  theory  based  on  extensive 
conjectural  emendations,  Cheyne  in  EBi.  s.v.  **  Nephilim." 


152  NUMBERS 

nan]  is  claimed  by  Giesebrecht  {ZATW.  \.  pp.  189,  228)  as  a  possible 
Aramaism  ;  but  see  Driver  in  JPh.  xi.  208. — 32.  nno  'b-jn]  the  sing,  is 
mn  t5"N  I  Ch.  20''  (and  hence  to  be  restored  in  2  S.  21^");  on  the  double  plural 
see  Dav.  15(3);  G.-K.  124/1-5;  in  Is.  45'^  the  pi.  is  mo  'b-jk. — 33.  p]  Ch. 
on  Is.  51®  (crit.  note)  suggests  d'jd. 

XIV.  1-10.  The  people  murmur  at  the  report  of  the  spies 
(JE  P).— To  P  belong  at  least  v.^-^-t.  10  ^nd  part  of  v.^,  the 
rest  probably  to  JE  ;  see  above,  p.  132. 

1  f.  Disheartened  by  the  report  of  the  spies  (13^'^"^^)  the 
people  lament  and  complain,  and  wish  themselves  already 
dead  in  Egypt  or  the  wilderness.  As  Di.  has  pointed  out,  the 
subject  is  stated  three  times  in  these  two  verses ;  note  the 
three  terms  for  the  murmurers — All  the  congregation  (i^  phil. 
n.),  the  people^  all  the  children  of  Israel  (cp.  20^) ;  the  four 
verbs — they  lifted  up  their  voice  (d"?1P  HX  "l^n"")  .  .  .  KtJTil),  -wept, 
murmured — might  be  progressive  statements ;  but  they  are 
more  probably  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  three  sources  are 
here  combined. — Atid  t(tte7'ed  their  voice]  nblp  nx  larT'l  Gn.  45^ 
{]E).—And  the  people  wept]  i  i^o-  ^^-  ^^-  20  (J) ;  cp.  256  (P),  1 1*  (J). 
— 2.  That  night]  CH.  142^*^. — And  .  .  .  mvrmtired]  ("li^''l)  the 
same  verb  (Niphal  or  Hiphil)  in  Ex.  152*  17^  (JE)  ;  otherwise, 
like  the  noun  (mpn),  it  is  confined  to  P  or  R^  (CH.  114^). — 
Woidd that  we  had  died i7t  Egypt]  cp.  Ex.  14^"-  (J),  16^  (P),  also 
Nu.  20"^  (P). — In  this  wilderness]  v.^^. — 3,  4  (JE).  The  people 
would  rather  return  to  Egypt  than  perish  by  the  sword  in  the 
attempt  to  conquer  Canaan  ;  they  therefore  propose  to  replace 
Moses  by  another  leader,  who  shall  lead  them  back  to  Egypt. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  it  was  at  this  point  in  the  narrative 
of  JE  that  Caleb  came  forward,  stilled  the  people,  and  gave 
an  encouraging  account  of  the  land,  13^^. —  IV/iy  doth  Yahweh 
bring  us  into  this  land]  cp.  v.^- ^^- 2*. — To  fall  by  the  sword] 
v.^^.  The  people  fear  the  military  power  of  the  Canaanites 
( 1 328- Sib.  33j .  (,p^  Ex.  13^''' (E).  The  complaint  against  Yahweh 
is  even  more  explicitly  stated  in  Dt.  i^^.  With  the  question 
cp.  Joshua's  in  Jos.  "f  (JE). 

Between  13^  and  14^  S  inserts,  with  the  necessary  change  of  persons, 
Dt.  i^'^;  see  also  Field's  Hexapla  ;  cp.  the  similar  insertion  before  13^  and 
see  Introduction. — 1.  lon'i .  .  .  Nrr.i]  The  first  verb  agrees  with  the  fern.  subj. ; 


XIV.  1-9  153 

the  second  is  pi.  owing  (o  the  collective  character  of  the  subj.  ;  Kon.  lii. 
346c.     KB-j  here  stands  for  bip  nb-:,  as  in  Is.  3^  42^-  ". — uViJ  The  root  is 

possibly  pV  (cp.  the  parallel  root  ^^'J,  \r<).  S  always  has  defective  forms, 
never,  as  ^,  e.g:,  in  v.^,  such  forms  as  cnr'?.x  Note  also  the  subst.  mhn  ; 
and  see  Nold.  in  ZDMG.  xxxvii.  535  n. — 2.  unci'?]  Dav.  134;  Dr.  Tenses, 
140.  After  uno  S  inserts  ♦"'  t3,  cp.  Ex.  16'  JiJ. — 3.  a'a]  the  simple  adj. 
with  comparative  force  :  Kon.  iii.  308^. — n*?  v.t]  laV  n'n  in  Hex.  only  here, 
v.",  Dt.  i^;  u  also  Nu.  31^.— 5.  r\1^m^  .  .  .  n:ru]  S  me'ii  .  .  .  jnj. 

5-7.  The  counter-report  of  Joshua  and  Caleb  (P). — The 
land  is  not  unfertile  as  the  other  spies  had  said  {13^^^),  but 
very  good. — 5.  Alarmed  by  the  blasphemous  murmurings  of 
the  people  (v.^),  Moses  and  Aaron  fall  on  their  faces  before 
all  the  congregation, — an  act  expressive  of  awe,  or  entreaty, 
or  contrition  before  Yahweh ;  cp.  iG*-^-  17^°  (16*^)  20^,  Gn. 
173-"  (see  Gunkel),  Lev.  9^*  (all  P),  Jos.  5^*  f  {} ;  a  fuller 
phrase). — 6,  7.  Joshua  and  Caleb,  separating  themselves  from 
their  fellow-spies,  rend  their  garments  in  grief  at  the  conduct 
of  the  people,  and  assert,  in  contradiction  of  the  report 
previously  circulated  (13^""),  that  the  land  is  good,  i.e.  fertile. 

8  f.  (JE)  The  people's  fear  is  groundless  ;  for  if  only  they  do 
not  alienate  Yahweh's  favour  by  resisting  Him,  He  will  bring 
them  into  this  fruitful  country,  the  inhabitants  of  which, 
forsaken  by  their  god(s),  will  be  unable  to  offer  any  opposition 
to  Israel  advancing  accompanied  by  Yahweh.  At  present 
this  argument  forms  part  of  the  speech  of  Joshua  and  Caleb, 
v.^^'.  In  JE,  whence  it  is  drawn,  it  was  either  addressed  by 
Moses  to  the  people  (cp.  Dt.  i^^^-),  or,  perhaps  more  probably 
in  view  of  its  position  here,  formed  the  conclusion  of  Caleb's 
misplaced  speech  in  13^^^. — He  will  bring  us  into  this  land\  v.^-  ^®. 
— 9.  They  are  our  bread]  we  shall  conquer  them  as  easily  as 
we  eat  bread:  cp.  Ps.  14*  (  =  53^)  and  the  figurative  use  of 
"eat"(b3N)  in,  e.g.,  24^,  Jer.  10-^. — Their  shadow  has  departed 
from  them]  this  might  be  explained  as  an  idiom  springing 
out  of  a  widespread  belief  in  the  intimate  relation  between  a 
man  and  his  shadow,  and  the  consequent  loss  of  vitality,  and 
extreme  peril  involved  in  the  loss  of  this  shadow.*  But  it 
Is  preferable  to  take  the  genitive  as  objective  ( =  the  shadow 
hitherto  cast  protectingly  over  them).  In  that  case  b'i  is  used 
*  See  Frazer,  GB.  i.  285-292. 


154  NUMBERS 

in  a  figTjratlve  sense  (R.V.,  here,  "defence"),  similar  to  that 
in  which  It  Is  used  In  Ps.  91^  121^,  Is.  30-'-  49^;  the  origin  of 
the  figure  may  be  sought  in  the  more  fully  expressed 
metaphors  in  Is.  25*32-.  That  the  phrase  "their  shadow" 
refers  to  the  god  or  gods  of  the  Canaanltes  is  favoured  by 
the  following  considerations:  (i)  the  verbal  idiom  used  here 
(^yo  "11D)  is  the  same  as  in  i  S.  28^^,  Jud.  16-^;  {2)  in  the  fol- 
lowing and  parallel  clause  Yahiaeh  would  thus  form  a  pointed 
and  antithetical  subject ;  (3)  the  thought  is  parallel,  and  the 
metaphor  similar  to  those  in  Dt.  ^z^^^- — "  How  should  one  chase 
a  thousand  .  .  .  except  their  rock  had  sold  them  and  Yahweh 
had  delivered  them  up.  For  their  rock  is  not  as  our  Rock." 
Early  Hebrew  writers  recognised  the  existence  and  indeed  the 
power  of  the  gods  of  other  peoples,  e.g.  of  Moab  {2  K.  3-'^ — 
after  the  king  of  Moab's  offering  to  his  god  (Mesha),  Israel 
experiences  the  destructive  wrath  of  Moab's  god). — 10.  The 
people  are  about  to  stone  Joshua  and  Caleb  (v.® ;  also  ?  Moses 
and  Aaron,  v.^) ;  but  they  are  stayed  by  the  appearance  of 
the  glory  of  Yahweh  (cp.  Ex.  16^''  P).  According  to  P,  the 
glory  of  Yahweh  (■•"*  1133)  was  a  fiery  appearance  (Ex.  24^^"^^, 
cp.  34"^"^^),  manifesting  the  divine  presence ;  it  was  first 
seen  on  Mt.  Sinai  at  the  time  of  the  giving  of  the  Law 
(Ex.  24^^^^);  subsequently  it  was  a  frequent  though  not 
constant  appearance  at  the  tabernacle  (Ex.  i6'^-^°  —  for 
"wilderness"  read  "tabernacle" — Lev.  9^- ^3^  Nu.  16^^  17'^ 
(EV.  1 6*2)  20^).  Two  passages  (Ex.  29*'  40^*')  might  seem 
to  imply  that  the  glory  was  a  constant  phenomenon ;  but 
these  must  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  the  less  ambiguous 
passages,  unless,  as  is  perhaps  more  probable,  this  difference 
is  to  be  attributed  to  the  author  of  the  later  strata  of  P. 
P's  conception  of  the  glory  of  Yahweh  is  markedly  different 
from  that  of  other  Hexateuchal  sources ;  see  below  on  v.-^ ; 
and,  further,  art.  "Glory"  in  DB. 

5.  StH\  Dav.  113  (5);  G.-K.  1450;  note  G  iireaey. — mj;  ^np]  Ex.  12', 
and  cp.  phil.  n.  on  1- ;  (Sc  here  recog-nises  only  one  of  the  s3'nonyms. — 
7.  pNn  .  .  .  pxn]  Driver,  Tenses,  197,  Obs.  (2).— ^ND  n.s-c]  Gn.  7'^  (P),  30^  (J), 
1  K.  7*^  2  K.  ID'*,  Ezek.  37'** ;  cp.  n.xo  iHSn,  which  is  peculiar  to  P  and  Ezek. ; 
see  L.O.T.  132  ;  CH.  63. — 9.  d.tVi'D  d'^s  no]  V;/d  niD  with  a  personal  subject 
denotes  the  cessation  of  -forolectiiig  accompaniynent  \   see  Driver  on  i  S. 


XIV.  10,  II  155 

28". — □?!»  is  paraphrased  by  the  Versions  :  C5  6  Kotpos  (influenced,  perhaps, 
b}^  the  idea  appearing-  in  Gn.  15^^)  ;  !F  omne  prcBsiditnn  ;  <S  t  OOT. J.  J Q..!:. ; 
Onk.  jinspm.  The  last  two  (=  "  strength  ")  may  well  be  paraphrases  of  a 
word  taken  to  refer  to  a  god  ;  cp.  ffic's  rendering  of  Ps.  19".  The  use  of 
h'i  metaphorically  of  the  deity  is  perhaps  to  be  found  in  the  Midianite 
name  J'jn'?^-,  Jud,  8^  (but  see  Moore  on  the  passage),  and  the  Hebrew 
name  nns'^s  (to  be  pointed,  perhaps,  ins^s  ;  see  Skipwith,  y^'i?.  xi.  259). 
Skipwith  {JQR-  X.  669)  suggests  dd'?^  for  ch}i  in  the  present  passage, — an 
easy  emendation,  for  note  the  initial  D  of  the  next  word.  In  this  case  the 
reference  to  the  deity  would  be  still  less  ambiguous  ;  see  on  33^^.  Still 
their  image  is  scarcely  a  natural  or  probable  expression  in  the  present 
connection. — 10.  QJ^]  P's  term  for  "  to  stone  "  (see  Lev.  zo^-  "^  24^''*  ^^a^-'^^ 
Nu.  15^^^-);  the  regular  equivalent  in  JE  is  hpo — L.O.T.  134.  djt  is  the 
regular  Aramaic  translation  (both  in  S>  and  Su")  of  "jpD.  The  Mishnah 
uses  both  bpo  and  on.— hnh]]  ^  +  py3  :  cp.  Ex.  16^"  %\. 

11-24.  Moses'  intercession. — Yahweh  proposes  to  destroy 
the  rebellious  people,  and  to  make  of  Moses  a  yet  greater 
nation  (v.^^^-) ;  Moses  seeks  to  deter  Yahweh  from  His 
purpose  by  an  appeal  to  (i)  His  regard  for  His  reputation 
among  the  nations  (v.^^-  ^'^^) ;  (2)  His  mercy  (v.^^*^"^^).  Yahweh 
relents  (v.^''),  but  insists  that  none  of  the  present  generation, 
except  Caleb,  shall  enter  the  promised  land  (v.^^"^*).  With 
the  present  intercession  cp.  Ex.  32^"^*  ^z^o-z^  ^^ss.j  also  Gn. 
J  8^6-33.  and  see  note  on  ii^. 

It  has  been  very  generally  felt  that  in  its  present  form  this  section  is 
not  derived  from  the  early  prophetic  sources.  The  close  affinity  in 
thought  of  v.^""  with  Ezek.  is  specially  noticeable.  Kue.  assigns  the 
passage  to  the  7th  century:  "Num.  xiv.  11-25,  i"  its  present  form, 
must  likewise  date  from  the  seventh  century.  The  pericope  [though  not 
necessarily  the  whole  of  it :  corresponding  to  Nu.  14^1"-'*  there  is  but 
J (33).  31-36  ij,  £)j  J  jg  older  than  Deut.  i.-iv.,  as  a  comparison  of  vv.  22-24 
with  Deut.  i.  35,  36  shows  beyond  dispute :  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
vv.  17,  iS  proves  that  it  is  either  dependent  upon  Ex.  xxxiv.  6,  7,  or  of 
identical  origin  with  it.  Compare,  further,  vv.  11-16  with  Ex.  xxxii. 
vv.  9-14  and  21  with  Is.  vi.  3,  which  the  writer  has  followed  "  {Hexa/euch, 
241).  Similarly  Wellhausen  :  "The  additions  with  which  here  [i.e.  in 
c.  xiv.]  the  main  narrative  (J)  is  enriched,  are  mainly  composed  by  the 
Jehovist  himself;  so,  especially,  is  the  long  speech  (vv.  11-25)  ^  ^^^^ 
composition  of  his  on  the  basis  of  an  originally  quite  small  kernel ;  cp. 
Ex.  32*'^  34*^-,  Ezek.  20."  {Comp.  p.  104.)  Similarly  Meyer,  ZATW.  i. 
p.  140;  Corn.  Einleitung,'^  p,  73;  Socin  in  Kautzsch's  Bible;  Bacon, 
Triple  Tradition,  p.  187,  footnote;  Di.,  CH. 

11.  How  long]  For  similar  indignant  questions  put  into 
the  mouth  of  Yahweh,  see  Ex.  lo^  (J),  16-^  (P),  Hos.  8-\  Jer. 


156  NUMBERS 

23*^. — In  spite  of  all  the  signs\  the  plagaies  of  Eg-ypt,  and  the 
wonders   of  the   Exodus   and   of    the  journey   through    the 
wilderness  ;  see  v.^^. — In  their  midst\  in  fi^  the  suffix  referring' 
to  the  people  is  sing-,  here  and  throug-hout  the  next  v.;  so  in 
reference  to  the  Eg-yptians  in  v.^^;  then  the  suffixes  are  pi. 
from  v.^*  onwards;    cp.   11*  phil.  n. — 12.   Cp.  Ex.  32^^,   Dt. 
9^*. — /  •will  smite  them  "with  an  epidemic]  the  Hebrew  word 
(im)  is  used  of  diseases  in  general  that  cause  great  mortality ; 
cp.  2  S.    24^^-^^,  Jer.    14^2^   Ex.    9^^. — Aftd  dishiherit  them] 
or,  with  abandonment  of  the  specific  meaning  of  the  verb 
(B'^lin),  destroy  thein,  cp.  Ex.  15^. — And  I 'will  make  thee]  (5  S  + 
and  thy  fathet's  house. — Yahweh  proposes  to  make  of  Moses 
a  nation  greater  atid  mightier  than  the  present,  which  by  its 
existence  redeemed  His  earlier  and  similar  promise  to  Abraham 
(Gn.  122  (J),  18I8  (J2) ;  cp.  Dt.  265,  Is.  5i2)._i3_i7,  xhe  text  of 
v.^^'-  is  unintelligible,  and  the  Versions  furnish  no  appreciable 
emendations ;    see   phil.    notes.      But   the   point    of    Moses' 
appeal  is  quite  clear,  for  it  is  contained  in  v.^^~^^,  which  is 
straightforward.       If,  he   says,  you   destroy  the   people,  the 
peoples  who  have  heard  of  your  fame  will  conclude  that  it  is  a 
hollow   fame,    and   that  you   destroyed   your   people   simply 
because  you  were  incapable  of  bringing  them  into  Canaan. 
The   problem,   therefore,  is :  How  is  Yahweh  to  inflict  that 
punishment  on  a  rebellious  people  which  His  moral  nature  de- 
mands, and  yet  maintain  the  reputation  of  His  power  among 
the  peoples  of  the  world?    The  same  problem  presented  itself 
to  Ezekiel,  who  saw  in  the  Exile  the  punishment  of  the  nation's 
sins  and  the  vindication  of  Yahweh's  moral  nature,  and  believed, 
as  a  necessary  consequence,  in  a  future  restoration,  which 
should  vindicate  Yahweh's  power,  and  prove  to  the  nations  that 
Yahweh  was  indeed  Yahweh :  see  especially  Ezek.  36^6-362^21-29 
(cp.  Driver,  L.O.T.  p.  295),  and  cp.  the  prophet's  treatment 
of  the  problem  raised  by  these  rebellions   in   the  wilderness, 
Ezek.    20^^-.     The  idea  occurs  also,   though   with   less   pro- 
minence, in  Is.  48^^  52^'-. — 13 f.  Perhaps,  since  the  following 
verses  contain  the  real  point  of  the  speech  (see  previous  note), 
these  verses  have  been  gradually  built  up  of  glosses,   and 
their  broken  construction  and  unintelligibility  is  due  to  such 


XIV.  12-20  157 

an  orlg-in,  rather  than,  as  some  have  sug-gested,  to   Moses' 
emotion.     Cp.   with  them,   in  general,   Ex.  32^^^-. — V.^^  as  it 
stands  must  be  rendered — Ajzd  the  Egvptians  will  hear  that 
(or,  far  less  probably,  because)  Thou  hro74ghtest  up  by  Thy  might 
this  people  from  their  midst.     But  the  Egyptians  do  not  need  to 
hear  in  the  future  what  they  have  already  experienced  in  the 
past.     The  rendering.  The  Egyptians  have  both  heard  .  ,  .  v.^* 
and  said  to  the  i^ihabitants,  etc.,  is  in  itself  most  questionable, 
and,  if  admitted,  hardly  yields  better  sense. — 14.    This  land\ 
Canaan ;  cp.  v.^,  but  here  the  phrase  is  inaptly  used. — Eye  to 
eye,  Is.  52^;  cp.  the  similar  locutions  in  12^,  Ex.  33^^ — 14b.  A 
fusion  of  phrases  and  ideas  to  be  found  in  different  narratives 
of  the  cloud  ;  see  Ex.  1326  33^-  (n^y),  Nu.  io3i._15.  This  condi- 
tional sentence  would  form  a  very  suitable  beginning  to  Moses' 
appeal,  and  was,  perhaps,  originally  such  :  see  preceding  notes. 
— As  one  man]  completely  and  without  exception,  Jud.  6^^. — 
TV/io  have  heard  Thy  fame]  in  itself  the  Hebrew  phrase  scarcely 
means  more  than  "who  have  heard  about  Thee";   cp.  Gn. 
29^^. — 16.  Dt.  928. — 17.  But  now  let  the  power  of  my  Loj-d  be 
great]  let  Yahweh  exert  His  power  in  some  other  way  than  He 
has  proposed,  that  the  nations  as  well  as  Israel  may  realise  His 
might ;  cp.  Jos.  7^*-.     Or,  possibly,  as  v.^^  would  suggest,  n3 
rather  means  {moral)  power,  or  control  by  the  exercise  of  which 
Yahweh  pardons  ;  cp.  Nah.  i^  (also  Job  36^).     Adonai[  =  "  my 
lord")  of  and  in  address  to  Yahweh  is  not  infrequent  in  J, 
especially  in  J  2 ;  see,  e.g.,  Gn.  iS^^-  so,  Ex.  410.  is  ^22  .^s .  B^g^ 
s.v.  jns,  3  (2).     CK  S  here  read  let  Thy  power,  O  Lord. — As 
Thou  didst  say]  at  Sinai. — 18.  The  quotation  is  from  Ex.  34^^- ; 
the  clause  "keeping  mercy  for  thousands"  (Ex.  34')  is  here 
omitted. — 19.  According  to  Thy  great  kindness]  cp.  Ps.  51^^^^ — 
19b.  Cp.  Ex.  32-34. — 20.  Yahweh  so  far  promises  to  forgive, 
that  He  grants  Moses'  request  not  to  slay  the  people  one  and 
all,  v.15.— 21-23.  Cp.  3210'-,  Dt.   1^.     RV.  wrongly  makes  ^3 
in  V.22  causal  (see  phil.  n.) :  v.21-23  should  rather  be  rendered  as 
follows : — As  surely  as  I  live,  and  {as  surely  as)  the  whole  earth 
shall  he  full  of  the  glory  of  Yahweh,  none   of  the  men   who 
have  seen  My  glory  and  My  signs  which  I  wrojtght  in  Egypt 
and  the  wilderness,  and  yet  have  put  Me  to  the  proof  these  ten 


158  NUMBERS 

times,  and  have  not  hearkened  to  My  voice,  shall  see  the  land. — 
As  I  live]  men  swear,  thoug-h  not  exclusively  (see  Gn.  42^^^-, 
2  S.   1521,  2  K.  22),  by  Yahweh  (cp.  e.^.  Jud.  S^^,  i  S.   1439), 
Yahweh  by  Himself:  cp.  Gn.  22^*^.    Cp.  the  oaths  of  the  modern 
Bedawin  :  "  The  nomads  will  confirm  every  word  with  an  oath, 
as  commonly  wa  hydt,  *  by  the  life  of ;  but  this  is  not  in  the 
Wahaby  country,  where  every  oath  which  is  by  the  life  of  any 
creature  they  hold  to  be  '  idolatry.'      They  swear  'wa  hyat, 
even  of  thing's  inanimate ;    *  by  the  life  of  this  fire  or  of  this 
co^ee,'  hydtak,   'by  thy  life,'  wa  hydt  rukbaty,  *  by  the  life  of 
my  neck,'  are  common  affirmations  in  their  talk"  (Doughty, 
Ar.  Deserta,  i.  269). — 21b.  Cp.  Is.  6^,  Ps.  72^^.     Here  and  in 
the   next   v.    (where   note   the    parallel   my  signs),  the  ^lory 
of   Yahweh   is   the   revelation    of  His   character   and    power 
in  history;  cp.  Ps.  96^  (||  "  marvellous  works"),  and  ct.  v.^*^ 
(where  see  note).— 22b.  The  verb  HDJ  (cp.  Ex.  I'j^-'',  Dt.  6^"; 
means  "to  test  or  prove  a  person  to  see  whether  he  will  act 
in  a  particular  way"  (Driver,  Deut.   p.   95);  the  sin  of  the 
people  consisted  in  losing"  their  faith  in  Yahweh,  and  constantly 
putting"  Him  to  the  proof  after  He  had  repeatedly  manifested 
His  power  and  goodwill  toward   them  (cp.  v.^^). — These  ten 
times]  or,  as  we  might  say,  a  dozen  times,  i.e.  frequently ;  cp. 
Job  19^.    The  Talmud  ('Arakin  i^ab)  takes  "  ten  "  literally,  and 
explains  by  reference  to  two  temptations  at  the  Red  Sea  (Ex. 
14^^,  Ps.   106'^),  two  in  demanding  water  (Ex.   15^^  17-),  two 
for   food  (Ex.   1620-27),  two  for  flesh  (Ex.   16^,  Nu.   11*),  the 
golden  calf,  and  the  spies.     CH.  also  think  that  the  numbei 
may  belong  to  a  systematised  tradition. — 23.  After  "  to  their 
fathers  "  fflr  here  inserts  btct  as  for  their  children  who  are  here 
with  Me,  as  many  as  have  not  known' good  and  evil,  every  one 
that  is  young  and  inexperienced,  to  them  will  I  give  the  land ; 
cp.  Dt.  i^^,  and  see  Bacon,   Triple  Tradition,  p.   188  n. — All 
them  that  despised  Me]   v.^^. — 24.  But   Caleb,  in   reward  for 
(npj?)  the  fact  that  his  disposition  toward  Yahweh  had  been 
different,   receives  the  promise  from  Yahweh  that  he   shall 
receive,  and  his  seed  inherit,  the  district  whither  he  had  gone 
as  spy,  i.e.  Hebron  (13^2);  the  sequel  is  to  be  found  in  Jos. 
14^"^^,  especially  v.^2-u^     See  also  Jud.   1-'^  (where,  as  in  Jos. 


XIV.  21 -2$  159 

14^  the  promise  is  referred  to  Moses),  Jos.  15^'  (to  Yahweh 
through  Joshua). — My  servant  Caleb]  cp.  **  My  servant  Moses," 
12^. — The  land  'whither  he  went]  more  specifically  in  Dt.  i^*", 
Jos.  14^  **the  Jand  that  he  (thy  foot)  hath  trodden  upon." 

11.  n:N  ly]  in  the  Hexateuch  only  here,  Ex.  16-^  (P)  and  Jos.  18^  (D) : 
elsewhere  also  only  from  7th  century  onwards — Jer.  47^,  Hab.  i^  Ps.  is"-^* 
62"',  Job  18^  iQ't-  The  synonymous  'no  ly  (v.^)  is  found  in  all  periods, 
e.g.  Ex.  io3-7(J),  Hos.  85,  Is.  6",  Zech.  i^\  Neh.  2\  Dn.  8'3.— Sdd]  ?="in 
spite  of,"  as,  e.g.,  Is.  5-^  ;  BDB.  s.v.  a  iii.  7.— 14.  iv'  ha  noNi]  ?  ffir  5  3? 
omit  bn :  S  treats  IJI  3C"  as  subj.  of  ncxi ;  G  has  dXXa  koI  iravres  instead  of 
rsNT  (?  +  ha),  and  then  makes  iji  ^b"  the  subj.  of  ij?db'. — ni.T  nxnj  .  .  .  not] 
Read  r\^-]i  for  the  anomalous  nx^J :  forasmuch  as  thou,  Yahweh,  art 
seen. — nnx  (2)  ffi^  S  omit.— 15.  nnoni]  S  noni.— lycc]  C5  S)  "Ctr. — 16.  n.^i;] 
only  ag-ain  Dt.  9^  ;  G.-K.  6gn. — ct2n!:"i]  <B  foolishly  Dncc'i.  On  ^3^B'  and  its 
Assyrian  equivalent,  see  Paterson  and  Haupt's  n.  in  SBOT.  ;  to  butcher, 
sug-g-ested  by  Paterson  for  the  rare  cases  where  the  vb.  is  used  of 
putting'  men  to  death  {e.g.  Jud.  12®,  i  K.  iS^",  2  K.  10',  Jer.  39*^  41^ 
52'"),  is  over-violent.  To  slaughter  would  be  a  sufficiently  expressive 
rendering' ;  cp.  the  use  of  Bnc  with  the  reference  to  child  sacrifice  :  Gn. 
2210,  Is.  57^—18.  non  m]  <&  S  Co +ncNi  =  Ex.  34*  |^.— vb-bi]  (K  S  iEo + 
nN::ni  =  Ex.  34^  pj.— D':3  '?j;]  S  +  en  '33  "jvi^Ex.  34''  ^.—U'whw  hv]  S  '?i'i 
w^hv. — 19.  h-ij]  In  Pent,  elsewhere  only  in  Deuteronomy. — h  nnxcj]  =  jiy  NiJ': 
vi8._ni-  Q-jh]  <Sc  S>  nn*?.— -20.  ni.^]  ©  S  +  nc-rh.—2i.  \-im  Va  ns  »"'  ma  n'^o'i] 
both  ace.  are  here  by  a  very  infrequent  cstr.  retained  with  the  passive  : 
Dav.  81,  R.  2. — 22.  '3]  here  simply  introduces  the  fact  sworn  to  ;  so 
frequently  ;  see,  e.g.,  Gn.  42'^,  i  S.  20^  ;  BDB.  4720.-23.  UT\Zi>h]  S  +  D.i'?  nn"? : 
for  the  much  longer  insertion  in  (5  see  above. — 24.  '"inx  n'jo]  is  a  pregnant 
phrase  (for  nnx  na*?*?  n'7d)  =  "  to  follow  completely  and  uninterruptedly  "  ;  it 
is  used  of  Caleb's  conduct  here  and  in  32^^'-,  Dt.  i",  Jos.  I4^*''*",  Eccl. 
46®:  otherwise  but  once — i  K.  11^. — niViv]  33*3  n. 

25.  TTie  'Amalekite  and  the  Canaanite  were  dwelling  in  the 
vale]  the  connection  of  this  clause  (neglected  in  Dt.  1**'  = 
clause  b  of  this  v.)  with  the  context  is  not  obvious,  nor  can 
we  tell  to  what  special  *'vale"  the  writer  refers.  Further 
a  comparison  with  v.'*'^-  *^-  ^^  13^',  Dt.  i**,  raises  difficulties 
that  cannot  be  entirely  surmounted.  Perhaps  the  least  of 
these  is  the  apparent  direct  contradiction  (avoided  by  S,  which 
reads  "mountain"  here)  between  this  v.  and  v.^.  Here,  the 
'Amalekite  and  Canaanite  are  said  to  dwell  in  the  vale ; 
there,  in  the  mountain.  But  the  Hebrew  word  in  means  hill- 
country  as  well  as  an  individual  peak  or  mountain ;  and  the 
word  used  for  valley,  'Emek,  "literally  deepening,  is  a  high- 
lander's  word  for  a  valley  as  he  looks  down  into  it,   and  is 


l6o  NUMBERS 

never  applied  to  any  extensive  plain  away  from  hills,  but 
always  to  wide  avenues  running*  up  into  a  mountainous 
country  like  the  vale  of  Elah,  the  vale  of  Hebron,  and  the 
vale  of  Ajalon"  (G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  p.  384:  cp.  p. 
654  f.;  also  Driver  in  DB.  s.v.  "Vale").  Consequently  the 
same  people  might  be  described  as  dwelling"  in  an  'Emek 
or  vale,  and  in  the  /u'lr  or  hill-country.*  But  whether  the 
writer,  who  speaks  consistently  of  the  hill-country  in  v.***^^, 
would  have  described  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  in  the 
present  abrupt  manner  as  dwelling"  in  a  vale  which  he  does 
not  define,  is  quite  another  question.  Again,  although  we 
might  harmonise  the  present  v.  with  13^^,  so  far  as  the 
Canaanites  are  concerned,  on  the  ground  that  the  Jordan 
valley,  at  least  a  part  of  it  (though  certainly  not  the  sea- 
coast  also),  was  an  ^ Emek  (cp.  Jos.  13^'') ;  yet  why  are  the 
Canaanites  and  'Amalekites,  whose  districts  are  there  dis- 
tinguished, here  united  as  dwellers  in  the  vale?  Certainly 
the  Negeb  and  the  Jordan  vale  are  not  interchangeable 
terms ;  and,  moreover,  any  reference  to  the  Jordan  valley 
would  be  out  of  place  here.  Again,  if  13^^  has  any  meaning 
at  all,  it  contrasts  the  Canaanites  as  lowlanders  with  the 
Amorites  and  others  as  highlanders ;  yet  in  14*^  both 
Canaanites  and  'Amalekites  appear  as  highlanders,  and  we 
find  no  mention  of  Amorites  ;  while  in  the  parallel  account  to 
y  40-45  \^  -QX..  1*1-4*  Amorites  take  the  place  of  Canaanites 
and  'Amalekites.  See  below  on  v.'*^:  and  also  above 
on   13^^. 

25b  =  Dt. i*°.  To-inorro'iv\  11^^  n. — Ttirn\  changing  your 
present  northern  to  a  southern  course. — By  the  "way  of  Yam 
Siiph]  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah  (cp.  21*,  i  K.  g^^).  Clay  Trumbull 
regards  the  way  of  Yam  Suph  (?nD  D'  "I"i"l)  as  a  specific  term, 
always  (Ex.  13^^,  Nu.  21*,  Dt.  i"**^  2^)  denoting  the  same  road, 
viz.  that  connecting  the  top  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez  with  Elah  at 
the  top  of  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah  [Kadesh-Barnea,  pp.  7f.,  352- 
363)  ;  but  this  does  not  suit  the  present  context ;  for  the 
people  would  need  to  make  a  long  march  through  the  wilder- 
ness from  Kadesh  before  they  struck  this  road.  The  meaning 
•  Cp.  also  Palmer,  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  p.  427  f. 


XIV.  25-2S  i6i 

seems  to  be,  therefore:  Turn  back  into  the  wilderness  in  the 
direction  of  Yam  Suph. 

'p'?Ci'n]  v.^'*'*',  Gn.  14''— the  only  instances  in  the  Hexateuch  of  the 
gentilic  form.  Elsewhere  the  people  are  called  p'?~V,  see  13"^  24""  (Gn. 
36"-^®),  Ex.  I'j^t  Dt.  25"-'^. — 3E'']  sing,  after  two  subjects,  cp.  v.^' ;  so 
after  three  subjects  in  13^':  Dav.  114a. — -i3iD.i]  S  maian:  cp.  Dt.  i*  %. 

26-39a,  The  condemnation  to  the  forty  years'  wandering 
(P). — Yahweh  swears  that  as  a  punishment  for  their  mur- 
murino-  (v  ^'''•)  all  the  people  above  twenty  years  old  (v.-^), 
except  Caleb  and  Joshua  (v. 2*'),  shall  die  in  the  wilderness 
^y  29. 35^^  in  which  they  shall  lead  a  nomadic  life  (v.^)  for 
forty  years.  At  the  end  of  forty  years  the  children  of  the 
present  generation  will  be  brought  into  Canaan  (v.^^"^^).  All 
the  spies  except  Caleb  and  Joshua  are  (?  immediately)  cut  off 
by  a  divine  visitation  (v.^^"^^). 

In  view  of  the  difficulty  of  separating  with  confidence  any  elements 
from  JE  which  may  be  embodied  in  this  passage  (above,  p.  132),  it  can- 
not be  safely  used  as  evidence  that  the  term  of  forty  years  for  the 
wanderings  in  the  wilderness  was  found  in  that  source,  still  less  for  its 
presence  in  either  of  the  two  ultimate  sources  J  or  E.  But  it  is  clear  on 
other  grounds  that  "the  forty  years"  formed  part  of  early  Hebrew 
tradition  :  see  Am.  2'°  5"'.  In  the  Hexateuch  this  period  of  wandering 
is  elsewhere  referred  to  in  P  (26'^'*  23^)^  ^"^  frequently  in  D  (Dt.  i'  2' 
29'' (^').  Otherwise  in  the  Hexateuch  the  references  to  it  (32'^,  Jos.  I4''*  ^'') 
are  confined  to  passages  which  appear  to  be  late  eclectic  compositions 
based  on  P,  JE,  and  D.  In  both  P  and  D  the  Forty  Years'  Wandering 
is  a  period  of  punishment ;  on  the  other  hand,  passages  in  the  early 
prophets  seem  to  imply  that  the  period  was  regarded  as  one  of  special 
divine  favour  (Am.  2^'-  5"^'-,  Hos.  2'*(^'*)).  The  two  points  of  view  are  not 
necessarily  irreconcilable :  but,  under  the  circumstances,  it  cannot  be 
safely  concluded  that  the  punitive  character  of  the  wanderings  was  a 
primitive  element  in  the  story.  Meyer  (p.  140)  seeks  to  show  positively 
that  J  knew  nothing  of  a  forty  years'  wandering,  but  reg-arded  the 
entrance  into  Canaan  as  following  immediately  on  the  report  of  the 
spies  ;  cp.  Steuernagel,  70-77. 

26.  The  insertion  of  the  long-  passage,  v.^'^"-^,  from  another 
source  obscures  the  immediate  sequence  of  the  appearance  ot 
the  divine  glory,  v.^^,  and  the  divine  speech,  v.^^ff-,  which  was 
expressed  in  P  here  as  elsewhere  (16^''  17'^"^  20^*-,  Ex.  i6^^'-). — 
27.  How  long  are  the  people  to  murmur  (cp.  v.^  note)  with 
impunity?  On  the  construction  of  the  v.,  see  phil.  n. — 27b. 
Cp.  Ex.  i6^-^2  ^p), — 28  f,  No  longer:  the  murmurers  shall  be 
II 


1 62  NUMBERS 

punished  by  having-  the  wish  they  had  expressed  in  their 
discontent  (v. 2)  fulfilled :  all  above  twenty  years  of  age  shall 
die  in  this  wilderness^  i.e.  the  wilderness  of  Paran  (13^0.). — 
28.  Say  unto  thern\  the  vb.  in  |^  is  sing.,  the  subj.  *'  Moses  "  : 
ct.  "Moses  and  Aaron"  in  v.^^,  and  cp.  i^  n. — Saith  Vahwe/i] 
the  phrase  nin''  DW,  so  common  in  the  prophets  from  Amos  to 
Malachi,  occurs  elsewhere  in  the  Hexateuch  only  in  Gn.  22^^, 
where,  as  here,  it  introduces  the  words  of  a  divine  oath.  On 
the  different  use  of  DX3  in  the  Songs  of  Balaam,  see  on  24^. 
— As  I  live]  v.2^  n. ;  though  not  found  elsewhere  in  P,  this 
formula  of  the  oath  in  the  mouth  of  Yahweh  is  common  in 
Ezekiel  (see,  ^.^.,  5^1  j^ie.  is.  20j_ — 29.  Vour  carcases]  v. ^"^•, 
the  word  "i:d  is  used  of  the  dead  body  whether  of  men  (e.^^. 
Am.  8^)  or  animals  {e.£:  Gn.  15^^) ;  as  here,  it  is  used  con- 
temptuously in  Lev.  26^°,  Ezek.  6^. — All  that  were  numbered 
of  you  .  .  .  from  twenty  years  old  and  upwards]  for  the 
phraseology,  cp.  c.  i,  passim. — 30  f.  You,  the  men  of  this 
generation,  with  the  exception  of  Joshua  and  Caleb,  shall 
certainly  not  enter  Canaan ;  but  your  little  children,  fear  for 
whose  fate  you  made  the  pretext  for  your  complaints,  shall 
be  brought  thither  by  Yahweh.  It  may  be  assumed  that  the 
family  of  Aaron  is  tacitly  included  in  the  exception.  Ele'azar 
must  be  thought  of  as  over  twenty  years  of  age  at  this  time 
(see  33f-s2  ^i6^  g^.  28^,  cp.  "f),  yet  he  entered  Canaan  (Jos. 
14^  17*  etc.  in  P,  and  24^^  j^  y.).  Vou  (DHX),  v.^,  is  in 
emphatic  antithesis  to  your  little  children,  v.^^ — /  lifted  up 
My  hand]  i.e.  swore  (cp.  Ex.  6^  (P) ;  Ezek.  20^-  ^-  '^-  "^  (hence 
Ps.  106^^)  28.42  267  ^^12  471*1);  in  all  these  cases  the  vb.  is  ^m ; 
in  Gn.  14^^  the  synonymous  D"'in  is  used.  For  the  promise  here 
referred  to,  see  Gn.  17^:  cp.  28*  35^"  48*,  Ex.  6^. — Caleb  .  .  . 
^oshua]  for  this  order  cp.  26^,  32^-:  ct.  v.^. — 31a.  Cp.  v.'; 
the  presence  of  this  clause  in  Dt.  i^^  p?  is  due  to  late  glossing 
(ct.  Gf).  The  extent  to  which  the  parallel  narratives  were 
amplified  from  one  another  is  further  illustrated  by  S,  which 
here  inserts  from  Dt.  i^^  and  your  children  who  this  day 
have  no  knowledge  of  good  of  evil,  they  shall  enter  the  land. 
— And  they  shall  know]  lyT'l ;  or,  perhaps,  shall  possess  (1t^'"l"'"l) ; 
so  C5 ;  cp.  Dt.   i^^  ftf. — The  land  which  ye  despised]  owing 


XIV.  28-35  1^3 

to  the  report  that  it  was  infertile,  13^'*;  this  last  clause 
shows  that  we  have  to  do  here  with  a  passage  from  P,  or, 
at  least,  dependent  on  P's  account  of  the  report  of  the  spies. 
According-  to  JE  the  people  did  not  despise,  but  feared  the 
land. — 32  f.  While  the  present  generation  gradually  dies  off, 
the  generation  which  is  ultimately  to  enter  Canaan  must  lead 
a  nomadic  life  in  the  wilderness. — Your  children  shall  be 
shepherds\  RV.  text  "wanderers^  strictly  presupposes  D''i/'J  (cp. 
32^^),  but  is  really  due  to  Jewish  exegesis  as  represented  in  2C  J®" 
and  F  [vagi).  ^  also  paraphrases,  tarrying. — And  they 
(your  children)  shall  bear  the  consequences  (cp.  12"),  i.e.  the 
punishment,  oi  your  whoredom  (probably  singular),  i.e.  of  your 
unfaithfulness  to  Yahweh.  Though  the  children  do  not  bear 
the  full  weight  of  punishment,  yet  they  share  it  (cp.  v.^^) :  the 
forty  years  in  the  wilderness  are  here  regarded  as  a  period  of 
punishment  for  all  concerned.  The  figure  of  whoredom  is 
used  in  the  prophets  and  other  writers,  especially  and  very 
appropriately,  for  unfaithfulness  to  Yahweh  shown  in  courting 
foreign  alliances  {e.g.  Ezek.  16^^  22-''^-),  or  practising  for- 
bidden cults  [e.g.  Hos.  2^  ^^^  9^) ;  here  the  original  force  and 
appropriateness  of  the  figure  have  been  lost,  and  it  is  used 
simply  of  the  reprehensible  unbelief  of  the  people. — 33b.  Until 
your  carcases  he  complete  in  the  'wilder7iess\  till  the  last  of  you 
shall  have  died.  The  verb  DJDn  means  '*to  be  complete," 
cp.  Dt.  3i24-3o.  j|-  js  often  used  as  here  more  or  less  elliptic- 
ally;  cp.  e.g.  Gn.  47^^,  Nu.  32^^,  Dt.  2}^  (but  fully  expressed 
in  v.^^). — 34.  According  to  the  number  of  the  days  (13^^) 
•wherein  ye.,  i.e.  the  people  as  a  whole  by  their  representa- 
tives, the  spies,  spied  out  the  land. — Shall  ye  bear  the  con- 
sequences of  yout  iniquities ;  the  subject  is  again  the  people 
as  a  whole — not  the  fathers  only,  for  the  whole  sentence 
would  then  imply  that  these  died  altogether  at  the  end  of  the 
forty  years. — And  ye  shall  know]  shall  experience,  cp.  e.g. 
Hos.  9'^. — My  opposition]  the  exact  meaning  of  nxiJn  which  ffi 
paraphrases  [tov  dv/xov  t?}9  6p'yP]<;  fiou)  is  uncertain  :  the  noun 
occurs  elsewhere  only  in  Job  33^°,  and  there  the  text  is 
doubtful.  Cp.  the  use  of  the  verb  in  30^  32'^. — 35.  I?i  this 
wilderness  shall  their  number  be  completed,   and  there  shall 


164  NUMBERS 

they  die]  virtually  a  hendiadys — one  and  all  shall  die  there. — 
36-38.  The  spies,  with  the  exception  of  Joshua  and  Caleb, 
are  cut  off  at  once  by  a  visitation  of  God. — 36.  Cp.  13^'^*. — 
36b.  Cp.  1325a.  32a.  142a  _37  The  plague\  nD3D  is  any  form  of 
death  regarded  as  inflicted  directly  by  Yahweh  for  an  express 
purpose,  whether  for  punishment  or  for  some  other  reason — 
cp.  1713-15  (i648-50),  Ex.  91*,  Zech.  14^2,  Ezek.  24I6,  and  see 
CH.  125''.  —  39a.  In  accordance  with  the  command  (v.^^) 
Moses  reports  Yahweh's  words  (v.^"^)  to  the  people. 

27.  ''jy  .  .  •  n^5;S  'na  ny]  The  explanations  generally  offered  of  the 
construction  are  (i)  there  is  an  ellipsis  (or  loss)  of  a  verb  such  as 
n'jDX  (v.^^)  or  NCN  (Cler.,  Rosenm.,  Keil,  RV.),  hence:  Hoisj  long  shall  I 
forgive  this  evil  congregation  ;  (2)  the  sentence  'Vj/ .  .  .  "12'N  is  the  subj.  and 
myS  is  construed  as  dd'?  in  Mic.  3^ :  How  long  shall  this  evil  congregation 
murmur  against  Me:  so,  after  some  older  commentators,  Di.,  Reuss, 
Kautzsch  ;  cp.  ^.  There  are  no  very  satisfactory  parallels  for  the  use 
of  ncN,  but  see  2  S.  14",  Zech.  8^.  Neither  explanation  is  quite  satis- 
factory :  the  clause  'Vj;  .  .  .  ncx  might  very  easily  have  arisen  by 
dittography  from  the  end  of  the  v.  — 30.  osnx  pi:''?]  pc  with  a  personal 
obj.  occurs  elsewhere  only  in  Jer.  'f-'^. — 31.  'nx'am]  Dr.  Tenses,  123a. — 
cnx]  ffi  +  pKn  ha. — 32.  dhn  Dsnjsi]  For  the  added  pronoun  emphasising  the 
suffix,  see  Dav.  i;  G.-K.  135/^ — 33.  nD'mJi]  the  form  is  probably  not 
intended  to  be  pi.;  see  Kon.  iii.  258/. — 34.  r\mh  dv  nw'?  dt  dt  d'j;31n]  Ezek. 
4®. — 35.  121?:]  In  ^  this  was  probably  intended  to  be  read  as  a  Kal :  cp. 
v.^'  ;  the  form  even  as  punctuated  in  MT.  can  be  explained,  not  as  a 
Niphal,  but  as  a  Kal:  G.-K.  67^;  St.  523c?.— 36.  The  whole  of  v.*' 
qualifies  D'U'JNn,  which  is  a  casus  pendens  resumed  by  D'B'JNn  in  the  follow- 
ing V.  ;  the  predicate  is  introduced  by  waw  conv.  with  the  impf.  (ino'i)  in 
v.^ ;  cp.  Dr.  127a. 

39b-45  (JE).  The  presumption  of  the  people,  and  their  defeat 
at  Hormah. — At  the  communication  of  the  divine  sentence 
(v. 25)  the  people  are  much  grieved,  and  now  insist  on  attempt- 
ing to  enter  the  land  of  promise :  Moses  vainly  endeavours 
to  dissuade  them,  and  refuses  to  go  himself  or  to  suffer  the 
ark  to  go  with  them.  The  people  make  the  attempt,  are 
attacked  by  the  'Amalekites  and  Canaanites,  and  driven  back 
to  Hormah. 

V.'«o-45  have  been  and  can  be  assigned  to  JE  with  confidence :  the  w. 
contain  no  marks  of  P's  style,  many  of  that  of  JE,  such  as  iJJn  and  Dosfn 
v.-"*,  ni  ns'?  v."!,  mp3  v.^^  (p  uses  -ma),  p  ^y  o  and  d3DJ?  rm-  v.''^ ;  see  CH. 
104,  200,  89,  58,  35,   130  J^.     Some  have  assigned  the  whole  section  to  E 


XIV.  36-40  165 

in  particular;  so  Kue.,  Corn.,  Kit.,  Bacon;  and  Meyer  (p.  133)  inclines 
to  the  same  view  on  the  understanding  that  the  "  Canaanite  and  the 
'Amalekite  "  is  a  redactorial  substitute  for  "the  Amorite  "  (cp.  Dt.  i*^)  ; 
cp.  also  We.  Comp.  104  f.  Others  {e.g.  Di.,  CH.)  regard  the  passage  as 
composite  ;  CH.  assign  v.^*'  to  E,  v.''^-'^  to  J  ;  Steuernagel,  v.*°-^-^^  to  E, 
y_43. 45  (though  not  in  their  present  form)  to  J.  Certainly  v.^^  is  a  bad 
sequence  to  v.^",  and  v.'"'  as  it  now  runs  was  not  the  original  preface  to  v.^^ 
(but  see  on  v.^").  In  i::n  there  may  possibly  be  a  distinctive  mark  of  E  ;  in 
m  HD^,  p  hy  '3,  and  perhaps  in  nVs  v.*^  (cp.  CH.  66-'^)  and  mpn  marks  of  J, 
and  in  v.^***  a  view  of  the  position  of  the  ark  that  is  certainly  not  E's.  Still 
the  data  seem  insufficient  for  a  detailed  analysis.  In  so  far  as  the  passage 
refers  to  Hormah,  its  origin  cannot  be  adequately  considered  without 
reference  to  the  other  notices  of  Hormah.     See  on  21^"*. 

In  substance  this  passage  is  reproduced  in  Dt.  i«-*4  with  these  chief 
differences :  in  Dt.  nothing  corresponds  to  the  going  up  into  the  mountain 
of  v.^*,  the  rebuke  to  the  people  placed  in  Moses'  mouth  in  Nu.  v.^^'*  is 
given  as  (in  the  first  place)  a  divine  communication  to  Moses  in  Dt. ; 
nothing  in  Dt.  corresponds  to  v.^^- *^'',  and  for  "the  'Amalekite  and 
Canaanite"  of  v.'*^-'*'  Dt.  has  "Amorite."  In  Dt.  the  incident  is  immedi- 
ately yb//ow^cf  by  the  record  of  the  stay  of  the  people  at  Kadesh. 

39.  And  the  people  moiirned\  the  vb.  P3Xnn  occurs  else- 
where in  the  Hex.  only  in  Gn.  37^^,  Ex.  33*  (JE).  —  40.  In 
Dt.  v.^^**  and  v.*°  are  immediately  connected  ;  thus  v.^^^  = 
Dt.  1*0;  v.*'^  =  Dt.  i*i\  Instead  of  obeying-  Yahweh's  com- 
mands and  starting  on  the  morrow  {w.'^'^^)  southward  from 
Kadesh,  they  rise  up  early  (on  the  next  day)  and  go,  or 
propose  to  go,  northward  in  the  direction  of  Canaan. — And 
they  "went  up  into  the  top  of  the  niountain\  this  strangely 
anticipates  v.*"*^  (for  why  should  the  people  ascend  to  the 
summit  before  announcing  their  intention,  and  why  should 
Moses  suffer  himself  to  be  dragged  by  them  so  far  in  the 
wrong  direction)  and  still  more  v.**,  and  appears  to  be  in- 
consistent with  v.*^,  which  represent  the  'Amalekites  and 
Canaanites  coining  down  on  the  Hebrews.  These  difficulties 
are  not  wholly  obviated  by  assigning-,  with  CH.,  v.*°  to 
E,  and  v.*^~'*^  to  J  —  an  analysis,  moreover,  which  is  not 
favoured  by  the  recurrence  of  the  same  phrase  (»*{<"»  h^  'hv 
"inn)  in  v.**^  and  **.  It  would  be  preferable  to  regard  and  they 
•went  tip  into  the  top  of  the  mountain  here  as  an  accidental 
intrusion  from  v.**.  With  the  phrase,  cp.  and  ct.  13^^.  The 
top  of  the  moujitain  generally  means  the  summit  of  a  particular 
peak  [e.g.  Gn.  8^,  Ex.  \(f^ ',  cp.  17^),  but  here,  apparently,  the 


l66  NUMBERS 

heights  of  the  hill-country. — To  the  place  of  lohich  Yahiaeh 
spoke]  lo^^  (J):  cp,  also  Gn.  22^-^  (E). — F'or  we  have  sinned] 
in  refusing-  to  go  up;  cp.  v.^- *,  Dt.  i32fE.  41.  fQj.  ^  similar 
confession  of  the  people,  see  21^  (JE) ;  cp.  also  Ex.  32^^  (E), 
Nu.  22^*  (J),  12^1  (E),  Jos.  y^^  (JE). — 41.  Seeing  it  cannot  prosper] 
viz.  what  you  purpose. — 42.  Ill-success  must  attend  the 
attempt  of  the  people ;  since,  in  consequence  of  their  dis- 
obedience (v.*^,  Dt.  i*^),  Yahweh,  whose  presence  secures 
victory,  (cp.  v.®  10^^),  will  not  be  with  them. — Go  not  up]  to 
the  land  of  promise  or  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  ?  See  n.  on 
v.43._42b.  Cp.  Dt.  i^,  Lev.  26"  (H).— 43.  The  'Amalekite  and 
the  Canaanite]  so  in  v.^^  ;  but  in  Dt.  i*^  "  The  Amorite  " :  cp. 
above,  p.  145  f. — There]  this  will  refer  either  to  the  land  of 
promise  (v.*'^''),  or  to  the  mountain  country  (v.*"'^),  if  the  clause 
"and  they  went  up  to  the  top  of  the  mountain"  in  v.*°*  be 
original,  and  v.^**  the  original  prelude  to  v.^^.  If  the  reference 
be  to  v.*"'',  then  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  of  promise  are 
described  by  the  unusual  combination  "'Amalekite  and 
Canaanite";  "the  Amorite"  of  Dt.  is,  on  the  other  hand, 
E's  usual  term  for  the  pre-Israelitish  inhabitants  of  Canaan. 
If  the  reference  be  to  the  mountain  of  v.*°%  then  the  Canaanites 
here,  as  quite  clearly  in  v.*^,  appear  as  highlanders ;  ct.  13^^ 
14^*,  and  see  the  notes  there. — 44.  The  meaning  of  the  first 
word  of  the  v.  is  uncertain  (see  phil.  n.) ;  but  in  view  of  the 
next  v.  and  the  parallel  in  Dt.  i*^'-  it  is  possible  that  the 
statement  does  not  imply  that  the  people  actually  reached 
the  summit,  but  that  they  attempted  the  ascent  heedlessly 
and  lightheartedly. — 44b.  Omitted  in  Deut. — The  ark  of  the 
covenant  of  Vahweh]  lo^^  n. — The  v.  seems  to  imiply  that  the 
customary  place  of  the  ark  was  within  the  camp.  But  if 
this  be  so,  then,  since  the  ark  and  the  tent  of  revelation  can 
hardly  be  separated,  and  it  is  perfectly  clear  that,  according  to 
E's  point  of  view  the  tent  was  outside  the  camp  (Ex.  33^"^^ :  cp. 
pp.  98,  ii4f.  above),  this  v.  must  come  from  another  source, 
presumably  J.  Then  J,  in  this  mattef  as  in  several  others, 
is  the  source  from  which  P  draws ;  for  P's  elaboration  of  the 
idea  of  the  central  position  of  the  ark,  see  above,  p.  17  ff. 
—  45.    And  the  'Amalekite  and  Caiiaanite  who  dwelt  in  that 


XIV.  41-45  16; 

hill-country  came  down]  to  meet  the  Hebrews  as  they  were 
attempting-  the  ascent;  see  on  v.^^  and  cp.  13^'^^.  In  Dt.  i*'^ 
the  direction  is  stated  more  neutrally — **  And  the  Amorite  who 
dwelt  in  that  hill-country  came  out  to  meet  you."  Here,  as 
in  13^^,  the  country  immediately  ahead  of  the  people  is  de- 
scribed as  hill-country. — Unto  Hormah\  Hormah,  originally, 
according  to  P,  a  royal  Canaanite  city,  and  subsequently  one 
of  the  cities  allotted  to  Judah  or  Simeon,  is  frequently  men- 
tioned as  situated  in  the  extreme  south  of  the  Hebrew 
territory,  ai^,  Jud.  i^^,  i  S.  303",  Dt.  i«,  Jos.  12!*  (D),  1530 
19*  (P),  I  Ch.  /^^.  The  identification  of  Hormah  with  Sebaita, 
25  miles  N.N.E.  of  'Ain-Kadis  (  =  Kadesh),  rests  on  a  philo- 
logically  unsound  connection  of  Sebaita  with  Sephath  —  the 
former  name  of  Hormah  (Jud.  i^^).  The  line  of  pursuit  is 
more  fully  described  in  Dt.  1**  as  "from  (so  G  .S  F)  Seir 
to  Hormah."  —  ffi  S  add  at  the  end  of  the  v.,  Aiid  they 
returned  to  the  camp. 

40.  ir^ri]  Dr.  Tenses,  123. — 5i.  'B  nn  nay]  here,  22"  24^'  only  In  Hex. — 
N'.t]  Dav.  I,  R.  2  ;  G.-K.  135/).— 43.  mn3  Dn'?33i]  v.^;  here  and  there  only 
in  Hex. — p  ^V  o]  cp.  10"  n.~ii.  niVy^  ^ht>V"i\  Dt.  i^^  m'?;''?  irnni ;  Dt.  \^  mm 
iSvni.  The  ij^tirj  in  Hebrew  is  known  only  by  i.  the  Pual  form  nVsj;  Hab.  2*, 
where  the  text  is  probably  corrupt ;  2.  the  Hiphil,  found  only  here  ;  3.  the 
substantive  h-^]},  meaning,  a.  "  a  hill,"  b.  "a  boil  or  tumour."  Some  such 
meaning  eis  "  to  swell "  may  be  the  starting-point  of  the  meanings  i  and  3, 
and  also  of  the  Arabic  derivatives  of  J^j:  :  then,  metaphorically,  iV3j."i 
may  mean  "  they  acted  proudly  or  presumptuously  "  ;  cp.  Ti  in  Dt.  Or, 
connecting  with  J,ij  {  =  neglexit  vel  omisit  rem),  we  may  perhaps  infer 
that  it  is  parallel  to  the  J'n  of  Dt.,  and  means  "they  acted  carelessl}-, 
thoughtlessly."  The  VV.  appear  to  guess :  ffi  dLa^iaaifievoL,  S  Q_ij_»0 
{  —  and  they  began),  F  contenebrati,  Onk.  U'ts'ixi. — wd]  the  other  occurrences 
in  the  Hex.  of  v'T::r\  2>id  are  Ex.  1322  (J),  33"  (E),  Jos.  i^  (D).— 45.  DinD'i] 
Aramaising  Hiphil  from  nnD,  G.-K.  67/— nonnn]  here  only  with  the  art.  ;  the 
word  means  "  the  sacred  place"  ;  cp.  jioin,  and  see  EBi.  s.v.  "  Names," 

§98.  The  philological  resemblance  of  Sebaita,  or  Esbata  (UjU-j^),  and 
Sephath  (ns<i)  is  remote.  On  Sebaita,  see  Seetzen,  Reisen,  iii.  44  ;  Palmer, 
Desert  of  Exodus,  pp.  374-380 ;  and  on  the  general  question,  Driver  on 
Dt.  i«and  Moore  on  Jud.  i'^.— cn^'i  Di3'i]  a  doublet  (CH.  tentatively)  or 
dittographic?     Dt.  !''■'  has  WD'i  only. 


i6S  NUMBERS 


XV.  Miscellaneous  Laws. 

(i)  The  proper  quantities  of  meal,  oil,  and  wine  to  be  offered 
in  connection  with  animals  presented  as  burnt-offerings  or 
peace-offerings,  v.^"^^;  (2)  the  cake  of  "the  first  of  'Arisoih,'' 
^17-21.  ^2)  offerings  to  make  propitiation  for  sins  of  ignorance 
on  the  part  of  the  community  or  an  individual,  v.^^'^^ ;  (4)  the 
penalty  of  the  man  who  gathered  sticks  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
y  32-36 .  (- J  the  tassels  to  be  worn  at  the  corners  of  garments. 

These  laws,  like  those  in  c.  5.  6,  have  little  or  no  connec- 
tion with  one  another  ((3)  quite  incidentally  presupposes  (i): 
see  V.2*  and  n.  below),  and  none  with  the  narrative  of  the  spies 
(c.  13.  14)  which  precedes,  or  with  that  of  the  revolt  of  Korah 
which  follows  them.  On  this  ground  alone,  then,  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  this  miscellaneous  collection  of  laws  stood 
between  the  two  narratives  just  referred  to  in  P^  (Introd. 
§  11),  though  they  clearly  belong  to  P.  Note  that  v. 2-  not 
merely  fails  to  connect  with  v.^~^^,  but  almost  certainly  pre- 
supposes an  original  introduction  of  an  entirely  different 
nature  :  see  n.  on  v.^-. 

The  languag-e  clearly  points  in  all  sections  to  P  (though  in  some  it  also 
recalls  H) :  with  v.^- 2»- ".  isa.  37.  ssa  cp.  s"- i^a  n,  ;  with  v.*"'  cp.  g^^n.;  and 
note,  e.g.,  D3'nm'7  v."-  ^i-  ^-  ^  (Dr.  L.O.  T.  p.  132,  no.  20  ;  CH.  76),  m^  v.2-*-26- 
33-36  (cp.  i2  phil.  n.),  -lan  ijn  v.'^'-  26.  29  (CH.  145),  miN-  v.i3-  2^  (CH.  34),  c:i 
v.'^'-  (cp.  14^**  n.),  zhrj  npn  v."  (CH.  62c).  See,  further,  marginal  references 
inCH. 

The  different  manner  in  which  the  sections  are  introduced 
confirms  the  conclusion  suggested  by  the  want  of  sequence, 
viz.  that  the  compiler  of  the  chapter  has  derived  his  mateiial 
from  different  sources.  Note  that  the  ist,  2nd,  and  5th  sec- 
tions are  introduced  by  the  same  formula  as  that  found,  e.g., 
in  5^^^- ;  the  3rd  and  4th  sections  are  distinguished  from  the 
others  by  the  absence  of  this  formula ;  the  third  also  by 
peculiarities  of  style  at  its  close.  The  4th  section  (v.^-"^")  so 
closely  resembles  in  character  Lev.  2^^^~'^^-  ^^  that  the  two 
passages  should  be  closely  connected.     The  5th  section  more 


XV.  169 

especially  resembles  H:  see  below.  It  has  been  suggested* 
that  the  several  sections  were  connected  and  incorporated  by 
the  same  editor  who  worked  H  into  P;  as  an  additional  point 
in  favour  of  this,  cp.  v.-''-  ^^^  with  Lev.  ig^^  23^*'  25^. 

On  the  age  of  the  substance  of  the  several  laws  as 
distinct  from  their  literary  setting,  see  below  on  the  several 
sections. 

What  reasons  induced  the  editor  to  refer  this  particular 
group  of  laws,  like  those  of  c.  19,  to  the  period  of  wandering 
cannot  be  determined.  The  only  section  of  the  chapter  which 
in  itself  may  presuppose  this  period  is  the  4th ;  cp.  v.^^.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  ist  and  2nd  sections  appear  like  Deutero- 
nomy to  contemplate  a  speedy  settlement  in  Canaan :  with 
v.2b-  isb^  cp.  Dt.  12^- 10  19^  and  constantly. 

1-16.  The  proper  quantities  of  meal,  oil,  and  wine  to  be 
offered  with  animal  offerings. — The  law  requires  that  meal, 
oil,  and  wine,  according  to  a  fixed  scale,  shall  be  presented 
with  every  animal  "  of  the  herd  or  the  flock  "  offered  either  as 
a  burnt-offering  or  a  peace-offering.  The  law  is  not  "evidently 
a  novella  to  Lev.  2,  intended  to  regulate  what  was  there  left 
to  the  free  will  of  the  sacrificer  or  to  usage  "  (Kue.  Hex.  95) ; 
for  the  law  of  Lev.  2  regulates  the  presentation  of  inde- 
pendent meal-offerings,  whereas  the  present  law  is  concerned 
only  with  meal-offerings  that  are  demanded  as  an  accompani- 
ment of  an  animal  offering.  It  is  perfectly  conceivable  that 
the  amount  of  an  independent  meal-offering  was  left  optional 
even  long  after  the  amount  required  as  the  accompaniment 
of  various  forms  of  animal  offering  had  been  fixed.  The 
date  of  the  literary  origin  and  of  the  custom  here  regulated 
must  be  determined,  in  so  far  as  it  can  be,  independently  of 
Lev.  2. 

A  comparison  of  the  present  law  with  Ezek.  46-^^-  ^i*  1*  points 
the  way  to  a  surer  conclusion.  There  also  we  find  a  fixed 
scale  for  meal-offerings  offered  with  animal-offerings ;  but 
the  scale  is  different.  The  two  scales  may  be  tabulated 
thus — 

*  We.  Conip.  ly-jf.;  cp.  Kue.  I/ex.  96  ;  Addis,  ii.  405  ;  Bertholet,  Die 
Stellttng  der  Israeliten  zu  den  Fretuden,  152  f.;  Moore  in  EBi.  3448. 


170  NUMBERS 

The  quantities  to  be  offered  are,  according^  to 

(i)  Ezekiel's  Scale.  I  (2)  The  Scale  of  Nu.  15^'". 

Meal.         Oil.       |  Meal.  Oil.  Wine. 

With  every  lamb )        .  \  1  hin  per 

(ordinarily)      . )    "  \      ephah 

With  every  lamb-v 

(of    the    daily  Ij  ephah    ^  hin 
burnt -offering-)  J 

With  every  ram      1  ephah    i    ,, 

,,       ,,    bullock    I      .,         I    ., 


•^  ephah         I  hin         }  hin 

IT)        »>  ?    II  B    »i 

^(T      M  a  >»  a  >i 


Whether  Ezek.  reproduces  the  fixed  or  customary  quanti- 
ties offered  in  Jerusalem  in  the  years  immediately  before  the 
Exile,  or  establishes  his  scale  independently  of  previous 
practice,  cannot  be  determined ;  but,  as  compared  with  his, 
the  present  scale  appears  to  be  the  young-er;  for  note  (i) 
Ezekiel's  scale  is  only  to  govern  public  offerings, — the  offerings 
of  the  prince  or  representative  of  the  people, — whereas  the 
present  scale  applies  to  private  as  Avell  as  public  offerings ; 
(2)  an  optional  element  remains  in  Ezekiel ;  {3)  the  amount  of 
meal,  oil,  and  wine  is  systematically  adapted  to  the  size  of  the 
animal  in  the  present  scale. 

On  this  ground,  then,  the  substance  of  the  law  may  be 
regarded  as  at  least  as  late  as  the  middle  of  the  6th  cent. 
The  scale  is  elsewhere  recognised  only  in  P:  see  c.  28  f., 
Ex.  2(^^~^'^.  In  Lev.  7I1-1*  we  appear  to  have  an  older  law 
which  leaves  the  quantities  accompanying  a  private  offering 
entirely  undefined  ;  cp.  also  Lev.  8^*^. 

Any  attempt  systematically  to  fix  the  amount  of  material  to 
be  offered  appears  to  have  been  first  made  at  a  comparatively 
late  period  ;  though  Dt.  \&^-  ^^  is  just  as  little  in  direct  conflict 
with  the  present  law  as  Lev.  2  (see  above).  But  taken  to- 
gether, I  S.  i^*  (S  (5)  10^  do  not  favour  the  conclusion  that  a 
fixed  relation,  such  as  Ezek.  and  the  present  law  demand, 
between  the  amount  of  animals  and  meal  and  wine  offered 
existed  in  early  Israel.  For  other  illustrations  of  fixed  quanti- 
ties, see  c.  28  f.;  also  Lev.  6^^^- ^^"^-^  (P),  which  fixes  xV  ephah 
of  fine  meal  as  the  quantity  of  "  Aaron's  oblation  "  ;  Lev.  23^^ 
(H)  24^  (P),  which  fix  1^  ephah  as  the  amount  for  each  of  the 


XV.  171 

two  loaves  offered  at  the  Feast  of  Weeks  and  for  each  of  the 
twelve  loaves  of  shewbread  respectively.  In  the  offering's 
mentioned  in  5^^  and  Lev.  5^^^-  (P)  yV  ephah  of  meal  without 
oil  is  the  fixed  amount.     See  also  Lev.  23^''  (P^) 

Considerably  more  ancient  than  the  exact  regulation  of  the 
amounts  to  be  offered  was  the  practice  of  associating  meal, 
wine,  and  oil  with  animal  offerings.  "Among  the  Hebrews 
vegetable  or  cereal  oblations  were  sometimes  presented  by 
themselves  [5^^^-,  Lev.  2.  5^^^-],  especially  in  the  form  of  first- 
fruits,  but  the  commonest  use  of  them  was  as  an  accom- 
paniment to  an  animal  sacrifice.  When  the  Hebrew  ate  flesh, 
he  ate  bread  with  it  and  drank  wine,  and  when  he  offered  flesh 
on  the  table  of  his  God,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  add  to 
it  the  same  concomitants  which  were  necessary  to  make  up  a 
comfortable  and  generous  meal."*  Cp.  Jud.  9^- 1^,  i  S.  i^*  lo^ 
Hos.  9*,  Mic.  6^.  The  amount  of  salt,  which  also,  having- 
probably  been  from  an  early  period  a  customary,  was  made  an 
obligatory  (Lev.  2^^)  accompaniment  of  meal-offering's,  is  not 
regulated  by  this  law  (cp.  Ezr.  7--) ;  nor  is  the  amount  of 
frankincense  (Lev.  2^).  In  Ezek.  wine  is  not  even  mentioned ; 
but  it  would  be,  in  view  of  the  references  to  early  literature 
just  given,  a  wholly  erroneous  conclusion  to  infer  that  wine 
was  first  made  an  accompaniment  of  offerings  after  the  time 
of  Ezekiel. 

But  while  it  was  customary  in  all  periods  after  the  settle- 
ment in  Canaan  to  combine  meal-  and  animal-offering's,  it  is 
highly  probable  that  the  rigid  insistence  that  every  animal 
offered  as  a  peace-  or  burnt-offering'  vitisi  be  accompanied  by 
a  gift  of  meal,  oil,  and  wine  was,  like  the  exact  regulation  of 
quantities,  and  the  insistence  on  the  meal  being  fine  meal 
(5^^  n,),  very  far  from  primitive ;  that  it  was,  indeed,  the 
result  of  the  divorce  of  sacrifice  from  ordinary  everyday  life, 
and  the  increasing  priestly  organisation  which  alike  resulted 
from  the  centralisation  of  worship  effected  by  the  Josianic 
Reformation.  Gradually  other  customs  connected  with  these 
offerings  passed  into  fixed  regulations,  some  of  which  may  be 
found  in  the  Mishnah  tractate  Menahoth. 

*  W.  R.  Smith,  Religion  of  the  Semites^  204  f.,  '  222. 


172  NUMBERS 

The  law  itself  (v.^)  rightly  recognises  that  offerings  of 
meal,  oil,  and  wine  were  not  coeval  among  the  Hebrews 
with  offerings  of  animals.  Animals,  the  natural  offerings  of 
nomads,  were  the  more  ancient  form  of  offering;  meal,  oil, 
and  wine  were  later :  they  are  at  most  occasionally  offered 
by  nomads ;  *  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  peculiarly  the 
offerings  of  an  agricultural  community  such  as  were  the 
Hebrews  in  Canaan,  the  chief  products  of  which  country 
ivere  corn,  oil,  and  wine  [e.g.  Dt.  7^^  12^'^,  Hos.  2^°- ^^  ^^- ^2)^ 
Jer.  31I2). 

2.  When  ye  he  come  into  the  lai2d\  this  and  the  next  law 
^y  i8bj  gj-e  only  to  come  into  force  after  the  settlement  in 
Canaan — a  land  of  corn  and  wine  and  oil.  Similar  introduc- 
tions to  laws,  especially  such  as  refer  to  agricultural  condi- 


,10 


tions,  are  found  frequently  elsewhere,  34^,  Lev.  14^*  19^^  23^ 
252  (the  last  three  H),  Dt.  12^  18*  19^  — 3.  Afire-offering] 
the  term  ntJ^X  occurs  in  three  Deuteronomic  passages  (Dt. 
18S  Jos.  13^*,  I  S.  2^^),  otherwise  only  in  P,  who  uses  it  62 
times.  The  original  meaning  is  uncertain.  It  has  commonly 
been  connected  with  K'N=**fire"t;  others,  deriving  it  from 

\/K'iK  =  i/-J^  consider  it  to  have  been  originally  a  perfectly 
general  term  to  denote  any  offering  regarded  as  a  means  of 
establishing  friendly  relations  with  the  deity.  J  Whatever  the 
etymology,  in  the  usage  of  the  period  to  which  the  OT.  refer- 
ences belong,  ntJ'X  vvas  probably  connected  with  tJ'J? ;  for  where 
the  context  speaks  clearly,  the  term  always  seems  to  be  used 
of  offerings  consumed  on  the  altar :  so  even  in  Lev.  24^-  ^ ;  on 
v.^^  see  note  there.  For  such  a  term  P  had  need ;  for  sacred 
offering,  in  the  most  general  sense,  he  had  another  term  at 
command  in  1^"!^.  But  though  the  term  here  used  only  in- 
cludes offerings  consumed  in  the  sacrificial  fire,  it  still  needed 
qualification  ;  hence  in  v.^^  the  obligation  to  offer  meal,  oil, 
and  wine  with  the  animal-offering  is  limited  to  burnt-offerings 

*  Cp.  W.  R.  Smith,  op.  cit.  205  (222) ;  Wellhausen,  Die  Reste  arabischen 
Heidentums^  in. 

t  Stade,  Heb,  Cram.  1893,  301a  ;  Di.  on  Lev.  i'  ;  BDB.  s.v.  ncN  (by 
preference). 

X  So,  after  Wetzstein,  Lagarde,  NB.  68,  190  ;  cp.  Konig-,  ii.  p.  w^L 


XV.  2,  3  173 

and  peace-ofFerings ;  and,  furthc/,  to  the  cases,  by  far  the 
most  frequent,  in  which  the  animal  offered  was  oi  the  bovine, 
sheep,  or  g-oat  kind. — A  sacrifice^  n3T  is  here  used,  as  in  Lev. 
1^5.  7f.  jg6  2337  ^Hj^  Jqs,  222^-  29  (P),  for  the  sacrifices  of  which 
the  offerer  partook,  as  distinguished  from  the  sacrifices  (includ- 
ing the  burnt-offering)  which  were  wholly  consumed  in  the 
fire  or  made  over  to  the  deity.  Far  more  commonly  in  P  a 
more  distinctive  term  is  used  for  the  former,  viz.  D"'Dt3C  V\1\  — 
"peace-offering"  {e.g.  Lev.  3^).  In  early  times  *•  burnt-offering 
and  sacrifice"  (nnn  n^lj;),  or  "burnt-offerings  and  peace-offer- 
ings "  (□''Di'B'l  n^lj?)  was  an  exhaustive  classification  of  animal 
sacrifices  (Ex.  202*  32^  (JE),  Jud.  2o26,  i  S.  lo^  ii^^,  2  S.  6^7 
2425) ;  later,  special  forms  of  the  burnt-offering  became  dis- 
tinguished as  the  sin-offering  (nXDn)  and  the  guilt-offering 
(□{5'K)  :  these  seem  to  be  deliberately  excluded  here :  cp.  the 
prohibition  of  the  use  of  oil  in  a  meal-offering  substituted  for 
an  animal  oftered  as  a  sin-offering.  Lev.  5^^. — To  accomplish  a 
vow,  or  as  a  free-will  offering,  or  at  your  appointed  seasons\  these 
clauses  illustrate  the  term  sacrifice  by  referring  to  various 
circumstances  under  which  peace-offerings  were  wont  to  be 
offered.  Different  clauses  serve  the  same  purpose  in  v.^.  It 
is  scarcely  intended  to  limit  the  scope  of  *' sacrifice  "  by  ex- 
cluding, for  instance,  the  "thank-offering"  (Lev.  7^2  22^^). 
Cp.  Lev.  22'^  (especially  in  fflr). — To  accomplish  a  vow]  6^  phll. 
n.  On  the  vow  and  the  free-will  offering,  see  Lev.  7^^^-.  On 
the  appointed  seasons,  see  c.  28  f. — An  odour  0/ rest]  or  "satis- 
faction" (nn^:  rr'l),  Ex.  29^^,  Lev.  i^  and  35  times  besides  in  P 
(CH.  158) ;  see  also  Gn.  8"^  (J).  The  phrase  is  clearly  enough 
ancient.  It  originated  in  the  antique  notion  that  the  gods 
derived  sensuous  delight  from  the  fumes  of  the  burning  sacri- 
ficial flesh:  cp,  "the  gods  smelt  the  savour,  the  gods  smelt 
the  goodly  savour,  the  gods  gathered  like  flies  over  the  sacri- 
fice" (Babylonian  Deluge  story).  Even  in  P  the  phrase  refers 
to  the  smell  produced  by  the  burning,  especially  of  the  fat,  of 
the  sacrifices. — Of  the  herd  or  of  the  flock]  the  two  terms  are 
generic  and  comprehensive  :  the  first  ("ip^)  covers  all  animals, 
of  whatever  age  or  sex,  belonging  to  the  bovine  kind  ;  the 
second  (|X^'),  all  small  cattle,  i.e.  sheep  or  goats  (see,  e.g..  Lev. 


174  NUMBERS 

i^^).  As  among  the  Carthag-inians  [CIS.  ii.  165,  167)  an  animal 
of  one  of  these  kinds  was  regularly  chosen  for  sacrifice  ;  occa- 
sionally, however,  a  bird  was  chosen  for  a  burnt-offering, 
though  never  for  a  peace-offering  (Lev.  5''^  12^). — i^^V^e  meal] 
5^5  n. — A  tent1i\  of  an  ephah  ;  so  rightly  ^ ;  note  the  equiva- 
lence incry  Ex.  29*0  =  ns^xn  nn^t^'j;  Nu.  28^.  The  term  here 
used  (lliK'y)  is  confined  to  P  (including  H),  who  uses  it  24 
times  (CH.  160).  The  amount  is  a  little  less  than  7  pints : 
cp.  '^^  n. — A  qvartcr  of  a  hiii\  adopting  the  calculation  that  a 
hin  =  6*o6  litres  (BDB.  s.v.  pn),  this  is  about  2.'%  pints. — 
Mingled  with  oz'l]  "Among  the  Hebrew  offerings  drawn  from 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  meal,  wine,  and  oil  take  the  chief 
place,  and  these  were  also  the  chief  vegetable  constituents  of 
man's  daily  food.  In  the  lands  of  the  olive,  oil  takes  the  place 
that  butter  and  other  animal  fats  hold  among  northern  nations, 
and  accordingly  among  the  Hebrews,  and  seemingly  also 
among  the  Phoenicians,  it  was  customary  to  mingle  oil  with 
the  cereal  oblation  before  it  was  placed  upon  the  altar,  in 
conformity  with  the  usage  at  ordinary  meals."* — 5.  A?zd wi'fie 
for  the  libatiori]  the  term  'HP?.,  as  it  happens,  is  used  in  only  one 
early  passage  (Gn.  35^*)  of  a  libation  offered  to  Yahweh  ;  but 
other  allusions  (Hos.  9*,  i  S.  i^*  10^)  prove  that  it  Vv^as  a 
customary  form  of  offering  in  the  early  worship  of  Yahweh  as 
in  other  cults  (Jer.  7^^,  Ps.  16*),  though  hardly  as  prominent  a 
feature  as  among  the  Arabs,  with  whom  the  word  cXuJ  be- 
came a  general  term  for  to  sacrifice.  In  early  times  (inde- 
pendent) libations  occasionally  consisted  of  water  (i  S.  7^,  2  S. 
2^'^^).  In  P's  demand  that  the  libation  shall  consist  of  wine 
we  may,  perhaps,  trace  the  same  tendency  as  in  the  demand 
for  fine  meal  exclusively  in  meal-offerings  (5^^  n.).  It  is 
possible  that  wine  in  libations  arose  in  part  as  a  surrogate 
for  blood  (cp.  Ps.  16*  50^^).!  —  7.  And  -wine  for  the  libation 
.  .  .  shalt  thou  present  as  an  odour  of  satisfaction  to  Yahweh] 
the  phrase  niTiJ  rr*"!  (v.^  n.)  is  generally  used  of  animal  sacri- 

*  W.    R.    Smith,   Religion  of  the  Semites,    202  f.;   see  also  EBi.   and 
Hastings'  DB.  s.v.  "Oil." 

t  Cp.  W.   R.   Smith,  op.  cit.  213  f.,  and  more  fully  in  ed.  z,  229-231  ; 

Nowack,  Arch.  ii.  208. 


XV.  4-13  175 

fices,  or  at  least  of  sacrifices  that  were  burnt.  Some,*  there- 
fore, have  inferred  that  the  wine  in  the  ancient  ritual  was,  as 
among-  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  poured  over  the  animal 
sacrifice,  and  hence  could  be  spoken  of  as  a  "fire-offering" 
(v.^°  n.).  But  the  inference  is  hazardous  in  view  of  28''^. 
Certainly  somewhat  later  {2nd  cent.  B.C.)  the  wine  was  poured 
out  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  (Ecclus.  50^^ ;  cp.  Jos.  Anf.  iii.  9*), 
and  yet  Ben  -  Sira  still  speaks  of  the  libation  as  6afir]i> 
€vwSia<;  (  =  nn^j  nn  here  in  (5). — 8.  A  sacrifice  {which  ts)  to 
accomplish  a  voiv,  or  (/<?  be  offered  as  any  other  form  of)  peace- 
offerings\  cp.  v.^  n. — 10.  A  fire-offering\  v.^  n. ;  but  the  word 
is  perhaps  intrusive  here;  ct.  v.^.  If  original,  it  is  best  taken 
as  loosely  referring  to  the  whole  accompanying  offerings 
(v.®^  ID*);  grammatically,  it  can  scarcely,  neglecting  v. ^°*,  refer 
back  to  v.^^  only  (so  Rashi),  though  Rashi  is  probably  correct 
in  arguing  that  the  libation  is  not  a  ** fire-offering"  (see 
v.^  n.);  strictly  speaking  only  the  meal  and  oil  could  be 
covered  by  this  term  (Lev.  2^"^). — 12.  According  to  the  number, 
viz.  of  the  animals  that  ye  offer,  so,  i.e.  according  to  the  scale 
laid  down,  shall  ye  offer  for  or  with  each  the  proportionate 
amount  of  meal,  oil,  and  wine. — 13-16.  The  regulations  just 
given  are  to  bind  the  stranger  or  sojourner  {ger)  and  the  native 
Jew  alike.  There  is  no  satisfactory  equivalent  in  English  for 
the  Hebrew  ger',  and  even  in  Hebrew  the  word  underwent 
serious  modifications  of  meaning.  The  word  goes  back  to 
nomadic  life;  and,  like  the  corresponding  jYir  in  Arabic, 
denoted  "a  man  of  another  tribe  or  district  who,  coming  to 
sojourn  in  a  place  where  he  was  not  strengthened  by  the 
presence  of  his  own  kin,  put  himself  under  the  protection  of  a 
clan  or  of  a  powerful  chief"  (W.  R.  Smith,  Rel.  Sem.  75  f.). 
The  two  leading  characteristics  of  the  ger  of  P  are  that  he 
was  not  of  Hebrew  descent,  but  that  he  was  a  permanent 
member  of  the  Hebrew  community.  The  present  is  one  of 
the  many  passages  in  the  later  laws  that  assert  the  identity 
in  respect  of  civil,  moral,  and  religious  rights  and  duties  of  the 
Jews  and  of  the  gcrim ;  cp.  v.^*'-  30  igio-12  ^^is,  Ex.  12^*-  ^'•, 
Lev.  1629-31  178. 10-12. 13.  i5f.  j82Q  2o2ff-  22I8-20  24I6.  In  the  earlier 
•  E.g.  Knobel  (cited  by  Di.). 


176  NUMBERS 

laws,  on  tlie  other  hand,  differences  in  this  respect  are  still 
recognised;  e.g.  see  Dt.  14^^  (ct.  Lev.  17^^'-).  For  a  full 
discussion  of  the  position  of  the  g^r  according  to  the  Priestly 
legislation,  see  Bertholet,  Die  Stellung  der  israeliten  zu  den 
Fremden,  pp.  152-176  ;  cp.  Driver,  Dent.  p.  165. — 14-16.  "The 
awkward  form  of  v.^*~^^  suggests  the  hand  of  a  late  editor  or 
scribe"  (Moore). — 14.  And  if  a  sojourner  sojourn  [yagiir  .  .  . 
g^r)  with  yoti,  or  if  any  one  (without  enjoying  the  fixed  status 
and  recognised  protection  and  rights  of  the  ger^  be  in  your 
midst  throughout  your  generations,  i.e.  at  any  future  time 
(7  distributive),  atid  offer,  etc.  Such  is  Berth olet's  (p.  170) 
explanation  of  the  alternative  terms ;  in  view  of  the  general 
use  oi ger  It  seems  preferable  to  that  commonly  adopted,*  If 
any  sojourner  sojourn  -with  you  temporarily,  or  whoever  abides 
in  your  midst  as  a  permanent  resident. — 15.  All  members  of  tJie 
assembly y  both  yourselves,  viz.  the  Israelites,  and  the  sojourner 
that  sojourneth  with  you,  shall  have  one  and  the  same  statute, 
that  is  to  be  irrevocable  and  binding  on  all  future  generations. 
Both  you  and  the  ger  shall  be  alike  before  Yahweh. 

2.  DS'nas'iD  J'tk]  here  only  ;  but  nmao  px  occurs  frequently  in  P :  Driver, 
L.O.T.  p.  133.  So  also  does  ni3B'iD  in  other  combinations  (CH.  Z'^). — 3. 
naija]  S  nau,  which  is  probably  intended  to  be  a  second  direct  ace.  to  k'^ej  : 
yet  cp.  Kon.  iii.  332r. — 7w\f\  (5  renders  by  oKoKavrufj-a,  KApTU/ia,  or  Kapwojcns  : 
the  first  always  possessed,  the  last  two  (which,  like  6XoKa\jTw/jLa,  elsewhere 
often  render  n/iV)  had  acquired,  the  sense  of  soviething  burnt  in  sacrifice : 
see  Deissmann,  Bibelstudien,  I34f. ,  and  E.  L.  Hicks  in  Journ.  of  Hellenic 
Studies,  ix.  323-337,  on  a  sacrificial  inscription  from  Kos,  where  (1.  33-5) 
Kapwufia  is  SO  used. — 4.  3'"ipni]  The  changfes  of  person  throughout  this  section 
"  may  perhaps  indicate  imperfect  assimilation  of  material "  (CH. )  ;  the 
Versions  frequently  differ  from  ^,  the  tendency  in  fflr,  and  to  a  less  extent 
in  &,  being-  to  use  the  2nd  pers.  pi.  (see  v.^'  ^'  ''•  ^-  ^^  ;  so  in  a  clause  peculiar 
to  I&  in  v.^  ;  but  in  an  additional  clause  in  v."  dSc  uses  the  2nd  sing.). — h^hn] 
here  agrees  with  jnts'j;  (not  nho)  ;  cp.  Ex.  29^" ;  or  the  cstr.  is  loose  (cp.  v.") ; 
in  v.^  n'ji'ja  (but  S  '?i'?3)  agrees  with  n'jo.  On  hh2  in  Phoenician  (CIS.  165'^) 
see  W.  R.  Smith,  I?el.  Sem.  203,  ^  220. — 5.  nr^n]  so,  e.g.,  Ex.  29^°,  Lev.  9': 
cp.  Driver  in  Hastings'  DB.  s.v.  "  Offering."  <&  adds  at  end  of  v.  Troti^crets 
TocrovTO  Kdpirctijj.a  dfffirjv  evuidlas  ri^  Kvpl(p  :  cp.  v.^"  ^^  |t?. — 6.  7'N7]  ffir  +  6'raf 
iroirJTe  aiirbv  ij  els  oXoKavTWfjLa  rj  els  Ovalav  :  cp.  v.®  pj.^15.  7npn]  S  U  om. ; 
cp.  Geiger,  Urschrift,  p.  358.  Bertholet  {op.  cit.  p.  170,  n.  2)  thinks  the 
word  a  gloss  ;  so  also  Paterson  and  Haupt  in  SBOT.  For  the  casus 
pendens  cstr.,  see  Driver,  Tenses,  196  f. 

*  Di.,  Str.,  Addis,  Kautzsch. 


XV.  I4-I6  177 

17-21.  The  first  of  'arisoth  to  be  oflFered  to  Yahweh.— 
This  is  a  special  case  of  the  law  of  "firsts"  or  ** firstlings"; 
see  on  c.  i8.  Beyond  what  has  been  said  above  as  to  the 
connection  of  the  law  with  P,  little  can  be  added  as  to  the 
date  of  its  literary  source  and  origin:  v.^^^  contains  a 
phraseological  link  with  H.  The  opening  of  the  law  (D3X32  ; 
ct.  V.2)  and  a  clause  in  v.^^  {Y-O^n  nrh^  Q3b3X3)  are  phraseo- 
logically  unique.  The  custom  of  regarding  "the  first  of 
'arisoth "  sacred  goes  back  as  far  as  Ezekiel,  and  almost 
certainly  farther,  for  it  has  no  appearance  of  being  a  novelty 
introduced  by  the  prophet.  The  law  itself,  like  the  last,  re- 
cognises that  the  practice  dates  from  after  the  settlement  in 
Canaan.  The  offering  is  but  twice  referred  to  elsewhere ;  the 
terms  of  reference  may  be  compared — 

Nu,  is^of-  DD^riD-iy  n-tJ's-iiD  . . .  ncnn  innn  nbn  oanmj?  n•'^^'N-l 

.nonn  mn-'i?  unn 

Ezek.  44^0  -[n^n  ba  nana  n'^ni^  p^b  i:nn  DaTio-'-iy  tt'JJ'n-ii. 

Neh.  iqSs  □>jnDi5  N''nj  .  .  .  DSTiDny  n'^wan  nxv 

The  precise  meaning  of  'arisoth  is  obscure.  The  reference 
in  Ezek.  44^*'  and  the  use  of  the  term  **  cake  "  in  v.^"  favour  the 
view  that  it  is  some  form  of  cereal  food  prepared  in  the  house. 
JT't^'Xi  need  not  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  "first-fruits"  (see 
below,  p.  227),  but  may  rather  mean  the  first  part  prepared : 
then  we  have  to  do  not  with  an  annual  offering  of  raw  pro- 
duce, but  with  an  offering  that  might  occur  often.  So  ffi 
(cfyvpafia),  We.  {Proleg.^  156,  Eng.  tr.  158),  and  Haupt  (in 
SBOT.),  who  suggests  that  "ij;  '-\  was  "originally  equivalent 
to  □'':Ei  Dn7,  Assyr.  akal  pdm\  i.e.  'advance  bread,'  the  first- 
bread  baked  of  some  dough."  Kennedy  *  [EBi.  1539) 
would  identify 'ani-£>//i  with  the  Talmudic '«rj-a«,  "a  porrido-e 
or  paste  made  from  the  meal  of  barley  or  wheat."  According 
to  the  Talmud  (as  cited  by  Levy,  NHWorterbiich,  iii.  702) 
'^arsdn  was  a  barley  food  good  for  invalids  and  babies ;  in 
Syriac,  too,  ^arsana  is  "hulled  barley."  In  the  Mishnah  the 
present  law  is  taken  to  cover  preparations  of  wheat,  barley, 
spelt,  and  two  other  kinds  of  grain  (JID'K'I  b\i'\'^  vhyif) ;  and 
the  amount  to  be  given  is  fixed  at  -^  for  private  individuals, 

•  After  Lagarde  in  GiJttingsehe  Gelchrte  Nachrichten,  1889,  p.  301. 
12 


178  NUMBERS 

xV  for  public   bakers  {TIallah  \.    i,  ii.   7).      Cp.   Rom.    u^^ 

17  f.  Cp.  v.^'- — 18.  The  land  whither  I  am  about  to  bring 
yoJi]  Lev.  18^  20^^  (H). — 19.  Ve  shall  co7itribute  from  the 
whole  quantity  a  contribiition,  cp.  5^  n. :  the  noun  and  vb. 
in  Heb.  are  cognate  (njonn  iD-in).  The  vb.  denotes  the 
"lifting-  off"  or  removal  of  a  portion,  which  is  to  become 
sacred  by  being  offered  to  Yahweh,  from  the  whole  mass 
which  is  retained  and,  after  the  contribution  has  been  offered, 
is  available  for  common  use;  so  in  31^^  it  refers  to  the  selec- 
tion from  the  whole  multitude  of  captives  of  one  in  every 
500  for  Yahweh ;  in  Lev.  4^-  ^°'  ^*  to  the  removal  from  the 
whole  animal  of  the  fat  parts  to  be  burned  on  the  altar.  The 
verb  never  refers  to  any  rite  of  elevation  such  as  is  suggested 
by  the  RV.  rendering  of  the  noun  by  "heave-offering";  of 
the  renderings  of  the  vb.  in  RV.  that  in  Lev.  4  ("take  off")  is 
best.  See,  further,  Driver's  art.  "  Offering  "  in  Hastings'  DB. 
— 20.  A  cahe]  n?n  :  the  term,  if  rightly  derived  from  ^^n  = 
"  to  perforate,"  describes  the  bread  as  "  perforated,"  whether 
by  the  rough  stones  on  which  it  was  baked,  or  intentionally 
that  it  might  better  receive  the  oil  poured  over  it.  In  OT.  it  is 
mentioned  only  in  sacrificial  connections  (e.g.  Ex.  29^,  Lev.  2'*), 
and  but  once  outside  P  (2  S.  6^^).  In  the  present  passage 
Moore  considers  it  a  gloss  on  account  of  its  syntactical  isola- 
tion and  its  absence  from  v.^^  and  Ezek. — The  cofitribzetion  oj 
the  threshing-floor^  cp.  18^^  n.,  Ex.  2z^^  [jB).  The  exact  phrase 
here  used  does  not  occur  again. 

22-31.  Propitiation  for  sins  of  ignorance.  —  {a)  On  the 
part  of  the  congregation  as  a  whole,  v.^^"^^;  [b)  of  an  indi- 
vidual, v.^^'-.  In  the  case  of  (a),  the  offering  with  which 
propitiation  is  to  be  made  is  a  young  bullock  for  a  burnt- 
offering  with  the  requisite  accompaniments,  and  a  he-goat 
for  sin-offering  (v.^^) ;  of  {b),  a  yearling  she-goat  for  a  sin- 
offering  (v. 2^).  The  law  applies  equally  to  ger  and  native 
Israelite,  v.^^'-. 

In  Lev.  c.  4f.  we  have  other  laws,  not  all  of  the  same  age 
and  purpose,  relative  to  sins  of  ignorance.  Not  only  are  the 
laws  in  Leviticus  much  more  elaborate,  but  they  differ  materi- 


XV.  17-21  179 

ally  from  the  present.  Here  two  cases  are  distinguished- 
sins  by  the  congregation,  and  sins  by  an  individual :  there 
four — sins  by  the  high  priest,  sins  by  the  congregation,  sins 
by  a  prince  or  chief  (S''^3),  and  sins  by  an  ordinary  individual. 
It  is  true  the  first  two  cases  in  Leviticus  may  be  regarded  as 
virtually  identical,  since  the  high  priest  is  the  representative  of 
the  whole  congregation  before  God,  and  the  offering  required 
in  either  case  is  the  same.  But  the  two  sets  of  laws  differ 
materially  in  the  nature  of  the  requisite  offerings.  Here  in 
the  case  of  sin  by  the  congregation  a  young  bullock  mtist  he 
offered  as  a  huTnit-offeHng,  and  a  he-goat  as  a  sin-offering  (v.-*) ; 
in  Leviticus  no  hi-nit-offering  is  demanded,  hut  one  young 
bullock  is  rcquirea  for  the  sin-offering  (Lev.  4^*:  cp.  v.^  for 
the  case  of  the  high  priest).  Here  in  the  case  of  any  indi- 
vidual without  distinction  of  rank,  what  is  required  is  a 
yearling  she-goat  as  a  sin-offering ;  in  Leviticus  in  the  case 
of  a  prince,  a  male-goat  (4^^'"),  of  an  ordinary  individual,  a 
she-goat  (4^^^-)  or  a  feinale  lamb  (4^2^  ^g  ^  sin-offering.  In 
Lev.  5°-  ^^-  ^^-  ^^  goats,  lambs,  turtle-doves,  young  pigeons, 
fine  meal,  or  rams  are  prescribed  under  certain  circumstances. 
In  the  case  of  two  birds  being  offered,  one  is  offered  as  a 
sin-offering,  one  as  a  burnt-offering  (Lev.  5^^"-^''). 

According  to  many  older  and  some  modern  scholars.  Lev. 
4  f.  refers  to  sins  of  commission,  whereas  the  present  section 
refers  to  sins  of  omission.  But  this  distinction  is  unreal,  in 
spite  of  the  divergent  phraseology  of  Lev.  4^- 1^.  22.  27  ^17  ^^^^ 
Nu.  15^2,  which  at  first  sight  may  seem  to  justify  it ;  for  the 
phraseology  of  v.^*  and  ^9  and  the  antithesis  in  v.^°  show  that 
the  writer  has  in  mind  positive  acts  that  violate  the  law,  and 
not  merely  the  omission  to  do  what  the  law  enjoins.  Further, 
the  error  referred  to  in  Lev.  5^  is  one  of  omission,  viz.  "of 
the  requisite  purifications "  (cp.  Driver  and  White  on  the 
passage  ;  cp.  also  v.^). 

The  differences  are,  therefore,  to  be  explained  as  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  laws  date  from  different  periods  or  circles  ; 
and  that  the  practice  or  theory  of  the  one  period  was  not 
that  of  the  other.  For  similar  differences,  see  notes  on  4^ 
and  at  the  end  of  c.  18. 


l8o  NUMBERS 

The  actual  and  relative  antiquity  of  the  present  section  and  Lev  4  f. 
cannot  be  decisively  determined.  In  its  present  form  Nu.  1^22-31  p^g. 
supposes  15'"'',  for  v.^**  can  hardly  but  be  a  reference  to  v.^"^" ;  but  v.*'"' 
may  well  be  a  note  of  the  compiler  who  combined  the  laws.  The  peculiar 
language  of  v.'^  can  be  and  has  been  differently  explained.  It  is  generally 
agreed  that  Lev.  4  f.  is  not  homogeneous  :  that  at  least  5^'*  is  of  different 
origin  from  c.  4  :  see,  e.g.,  CH.,  Moore  in  EBi.  2778  f.,  Driver  and  White, 
"Leviticus"  (SBOT.),  58  f.,  67.  Of  the  three  sections  (i)  Lev.  c.  4  ;  (2)  Lev. 
;ji-6(]3).  ^2)  Nu.  15^-'^^,  the  first  only  contains  unambiguous  signs  of  P^ 
in  its  references  to  the  two  altars  (Introd.  §  ll).  On  this  ground,  as 
also  on  the  ground  of  its  greater  elaboration,  especially  in  the  greater 
graduation  of  ranks  in  the  offenders  (see  above),  it  may  be  regarded  as 
later  than  the  substance  of  the  other  two  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
fofal  offerings  demanded  by  it  from  the  unwittingly  offending  community 
are  smaller  than  in  Nu.  1522-31  (the  sin-offering  alone  in  Lev.  4^*  is  more 
important  than  in  Nu.  15^^).  So  Di.,  CH.,  Moore  against  Kue.  {Hex.  83, 
299),  who  regarded  Lev.  c.  4  as  the  fundamental  law,  Lev.  5''^^  an 
appendix  to  it,  and  Nu.  1522-31  ^j^  expansion  and  explanation  of  Lev. 
^13-21. 27-3i_  ^5  between  the  substance  of  Lev.  51-6 1^^)  and  Nu.  1522-31  j(.  jg 
more  difficult  to  decide  ;  CH.  and  Moore  give  the  priority  to  Lev.  5^-6  (i^)^ 

22.  The  section,  though  unconnected  with  the  last,  lacks 
an  introductory  formula  like  those  of  v.^-  ^-  ^^-  ^^*,  and  appears 
to  be  torn  from  a  very  different  context ;  for  the  clause,  atid 
liihen  ye  err  and  do  not  do  all  these  commandments  {i.e.  leave 
any  one  of  them  unfilled),  sug-g-ests  that  this  section  originally 
formed  the  close  of  an  entire  series  of  laws.  The  two  hetero- 
geneous and  unrelated  laws  that  now  precede  it  do  not  do 
justice  to  the  expression  "all  these  commandments." — 23. 
The  present  law  is  to  hold  good  with  regard  to  all  existing 
laws  of  the  class  contemplated  (perhaps,  especially,  ceremonial) 
and  all  laws  that  may  be  made  in  the  future. — By  the  hatid 
of  Moses^  cp.  4^^  n. — 24.  A  young  bullock  for  a  hurnt-offering\ 
in  Lev.  4^*  ^*,  which  requires  no  burnt-offering,  the  bullock  is 
offered  as  a  sin-offering,  and  therefore  unaccompanied  by  the 
meal-offering  and  libations  which  are  here  enjoined  according 
to  the  law  (cp.  29^^-  ^^ ;  also  Lev.  5^**  9^^)  laid  down  in  v.^~^^, 
and  specifically  in  v.^"^**;  cp.  p.  170  above.  The  sin-offering 
is  here  mentioned  after  the  burnt-offering,  as  in  Lev.  12^. 
For  some  conclusions  very  precariously  based  on  this 
unusual  order  of  mentioning  the  two  offerings,  see  Di.'s 
discussion.  For  the  combination  of  the  burnt-offering  and 
sin-offering  in  a  process  of  propitiation,  see  6^^-^^,  Lev.  5'^"^" 


XV.    22-30  l8l 

gSff.  J23  1^15.30.  (,p  Lgy_  j5_  Each  offenngf  by  Itself  also 
possessed  propitiating- efficacy ;  see,  e.g.,  Lev.  i*  4-",  and  see 
17^^  n. — 25a.  Cp.  Lev.  4^''^. — Their  oblation^  the  general  term 
here  refers  specifically  to  the  burnt-oflfering,  w.'^^^.^ Before 
Vahwek]  i.e.  to  the  altar ;  cp.  the  alternative  expression 
"before  the  tent  of  meeting"  in  Lev.  4^*  and  the  combination 
of  the  two  phrases  in  Lev.  4"^ :  see  also  5^^  n. — 26.  The  v. 
adds  nothing  to  what  has  been  said  in  v. 2^,  and  may  consist 
of  glosses,  clause  a  explaining  "that  all  the  congregation" 
(v. 2^)  includes  the  gerim  (v.^*  n.).  The  last  clause  is  a  violent 
ellipsis :  /or  to  all  the  people  belongs  what  was  committed  in 
error. — 27-29.  Any  individual,  whether  Israelite  or  ge?  (v.^^), 
who  has  sinned  inadvertently,  must  present  a  female  goat  a 
year  old  as  a  sin-offering.  On  the  divergence  from  the  law  of 
Lev.  4f.,  see  above. — 29.  Cp.  v.^^  n.  —  30  f.  On  the  other 
hand,  any  one  wilfully  and  defiantly  violating  the  law  is  to  be 
cut  off  from  the  midst  of  his  kinsfolk ;  read  H'^sy  with  S  for 
^"^^i^z  his  people  of  H;  cp.  Ex.  31^*,  and  see  9^^  n. —  With  a 
high  hand\  The  same  phrase  is  differently  used  in  33^,  Ex.  14^ 
(P). — He  reviles  Vahweh]  and  therefore  from  the  very  nature 
of  the  case  cannot  appease  Yahweh.  The  point  is  amplified 
in  v.^^. 

S/j/le  ofv.^'-. — There  are  several  peculiarities  in  the  phraseology  ot 
these  verses.  ')nj  =  to  revile,  does  not  occur  again  in  the  Hexateuch, 
and  nj3  only  in  a,  passage  from  E  (Gn.  25^) ;  na  wij?  recalls  n  vm,  which 
only  occurs  in  H  (six  times  in  Lev.  20)  and  twice  in  Ezek.  (CH.  igs"") :  "isn 
niio  only  occurs  again  in  Ezr.  g^*,  cp.  and  ct.  nna  nsn  Gn.  17^'*;  m.T  nan 
and  rran  vr\ir\  are  strange  in  P.  On  the  significance  of  these  peculiarities, 
see  above,  p.  168  f. 

22.  I3i7n]  only  here  and  in  Lev.  4''  is  slnw=.^^\.o  err"  recognised  in  the 
legal  literature  (Dt.  27^^  is  of  course  entirely  different),  and  in  both  cases  the 
recognition  may  be  merely  Massoretic.  We  should  point  lairn  from  JJst', 
which  is  unmistakably  used  in  v.^,  Lev.  5'^  and  from  which  comes  the 
standing  term  nJJC. — 2i.  mj?n  '3'Vd]  "Away  from  the  eyes  of,"  i.e.  without 
the  knowledge  of:  cp.  but  also  ct.  Lev.  4"  hr\^T\  '':'yD  D'?y:i. — nna-y:]  fem.  in 
reference  to  a  subj.  not  definitely  expressed,  but  suggested  by  the  con- 
text ;  G.-K.  1445. — niivh^  in  v. 2®  and  elsewhere  (as  here  also  in  some  Heb. 
MSS.)  .1^:173  :  for  the  use  of  the  \,  see  BDB.  5166  (top),  njjca  is  charac- 
teristic of  P  (CH.  168) ;  cp.  especially  the  use  in  35"-  ^*  corresponding  to 
nVT  'Vaa  Dt.  ig*. — nnx]  CEr  +  Q'cn. — nsn^]  cp.  'n^io  for  tinsd:  11"  n. — 27. 
aruB'-na]  6"  n. — 28.  SNKna]  MT.  intends  the  n  to  be  suffixal,  referring  to  ce: 


1 82  NUMBERS 

and  the  whole  to  be  equal  to  "  when  it  sins  "  ;  the  mappth  is  omitted  and  n 
marked  r«/'/2i?' before  the  following-  aspirate,  as  in  nn  r;:iy  in  v.^^  BDB. 
(3065)  apparently  take  riNBn  as  an  infinitival  form  without  the  suffix,  and 
Kon.  (ii.  p.  169)  treats  it  as  a  noun,  nxona  then  being  parallel  to  and 
synonymous  with  nj:ra. — n\T  nnx  min]  5^  n. 

32-36.  The  Sabbath-breaker. — While  in  the  wilderness, 
some  Israelites  find  a  man  gathering  sticks  on  the  Sabbath 
day.  He  is  placed  under  restraint  until  his  fate  is  determined  ; 
and  then,  in  accordance  with  Yahweh's  instructions,  stoned 
without  the  camp. 

This  Midrash  was  probably  inserted  here  in  illustration  of 
"sin  with  a  high  hand"  {w.^^). 

The  passage  clearly  resembles  in  its  isolated  character  and 
general  style  the  incident  of  the  man  who  "blasphemed  the 
name  "  (Lev.  2/i^^'^'^).  Either  they  are  the  work  of  the  same 
hand  or  the  one  is  an  imitation  of  the  other.  The  latter  alter- 
native is  preferable,  in  view  of  the  presence  of  differences  as 
well  as  of  similarities. 

With  Nu.  15'^  cp.  Lev.  24'^^  (but  ct,  wk,  in-) ;  cp.  also  \}i\&  general  tenor 
of  Nu.  \^^  and  Lev.  24"'*',  and  the  use  in  each  passage  of  ens  (="to 
explain  ") — a  vb.  common  in  the  Mishnah,  but  in  OT.  confined  to  these 
passages  and  Neh.  S**  and  Ezek.  34'^.  Note  also  the  similarity  of  the 
punishment — stoning  without  the  camp.  On  the  other  hand,  the  blas- 
phemer is  brought  to  Moses  only,  the  Sabbath-breaker  to  Moses  and 
Aaron  and  all  the  congregatio7i ;  ct.,  further,  the  cstr.  of  v.^^**  and  Lev. 
24^^^  and  the  formula  of  v.^^**  and  Lev.  24^^'' ;  and  note  the  omission  from 
the  present  incident  of  the  hand-laying  of  the  witnesses,  Lev.  24^^ 

Both  passages  are  more  Midrashic  in  character  than  the 
laws  or  narratives  of  P  in  general,  and  on  this  ground  may  be 
regarded  as  comparatively  late — later,  that  is,  than  P^  or  the 
earlier  laws  incorporated  therewith. 

32.  And  the  children  of  Israel  were  in  the  "wilderness]  the 
remark  of  a  writer  who,  looking  back  to  the  nomadic  period 
of  Israel's  history  as  belongmg  to  the  past,  lacks  the  systematic 
and  artificial  precision  of  P^. — Pieces  of  loood]  or  "sticks," 
such  as  might  be  used  to  make  a  fire:  cp.  i  K.  17^^,  and  for 
the  vb.  C'u'p  (Poel)  also  Ex.  ^•^-  (JE).  For  the  force  of  the 
pi.  in  D''Vy,  see  G.-K.  \2\m.  —  For  it  had  not  been  clearly 
explained  what  ought  to  be  done  to  hini\  previously  recorded 
law  (Ex.  31^^^-  35^)  made  Sabbath-breaking  a  capital  offence. 


XV.  32-36  1 83 

What  still  needed  to  be  explained  was  how  the  sentence  was 
to  be  carried  out  (Rashi). — 36.  Cp.  Lev.  24^^.  Execution  by 
the  whole  community  is  an  ancient  practice;  it  was  intended, 
apparently,  to  involve  the  whole  community  in  whatever 
responsibility  might  be  incurred ;  see  W.  R.  Smith,  Religion 
of  the  Semiles,^  285. 

33.  mV'T  ^3  .  .  .  en]  Dav.  89,  R.  5  ;  G.-K.  w^fib.     S  G  read  (wrongly) 

37-41.  Tassels  attached  by  a  Mug  thread  to  the  four  corners 
of  their  quadrangular  upper  garments  are  to  be  worn  by  the 
Hebrews,  and  to  serve  them  as  a  reminder  of  Yahweh's  com- 
mandments. 

After  the  formula  (v.^-  *^)  already  used  in  v.'*  ^'  "•  '^,  the  present  law 
opens  peculiarly  (see  phil.  n.  below).  "The  peculiar  opening  '  and  they 
shall  make,'  followed  by  the  change  to  the  second  person,  '  and  it  shall  be 
unto  you,'  v.*^  points  to  the  employment  of  some  older  material  "  (CH.). 
The  law  is  either  derived  from  H,  or  deliberately  cast  in  the  manner  of 
H  :  note  the  characteristic  motive — holiness  to  God  (v.'^'^'^)  ;  also  the  twice 
repeated  "I  am  Yahweh  your  God"  in  v.^^,  followed  the  first  time  by 
"who  brought  you  out  from  the  land  of  Egypt,"  as  in  Lev.  \c^  22^^  26^^ 
(cp.  25^),  "to  go  a  whoring  after"  (cp.  Lev.  17^  19-^  20^'-).  Cp.  Dr. 
L.O.T.  p.  48 f.  ;  CH.  202,  203^.  The  only  feature  at  all  pointing  away 
from  H  is  the  use  of  nii-a  rather  than  np.i  or  cdeco.  Of  all  the  scattered 
laws  outside  Lev.  c.  17-26  which  have  been  claimed  for  H,  this  has  best 
made  good  its  claim;  cp.  Baentsch,  Heiligheitsgesetz,  9  f.  ;  Moore  in 
EBi.  27S7  f. 

The  ciLslom  regulated  by  this  law  is  certainly  older  than 
Deuteronomy  (22^^),  and  in  all  probability  quite  ancient. 

Earlier  direct  evidence  of  the  wearing  of  tassels  by  the  Hebrews  than 
Dt.  22^^  does  not  exist  ;  but  representations  on  the  ruins  at  Persepolis 
(Niebuhr,  Reisen,  ii.,  Table  22)  and  pictures  of  Asiatic  tributaries  on  the 
Egyptian  monuments  (W.  M.  Miiller,  Asien  u.  Europa,  297-299,  with 
pictures  reproduced  from  Lepsius,  Denkmaler)  prove  the  existence  of  a 
similar  custom  elsewhere.  The  custom  may  well  have  been  adopted  from 
the  Canaanites  by  the  Hebrews  soon  after  their  settlement  in  Canaan. 
The  tassels  in  some  of  the  representations  referred  to  are  coloured  blue. 

But  the  motive  here  assigned  is  not  ancient,  probably, 
indeed,  more  recent  than  Dt.,  which  gives  no  motive  for  this 
custom,  though  it  gives  a  similar  motive  for  another  custom 
of  like  kind  (Dt.  G'^-  ^).  The  motive  is  rather  a  religious  after- 
thought, an  attempt  to  make  a  deeply-rooted  custom  serve  a 


I  84  NUMBERS 

fitting-  religious  purpose  (cp.  p.  47  f.).  It  Is  possible  that  the 
tassels  once  served  a  very  different  religious  purpose ;  that  the 
wearing  of  them  was  a  superstitious  custom,  just  as  the 
tephillin,  which  are  worn  in  fulfilment  of  the  law  of  Dt.  6^  (cp. 
Driver,  ad  loc),  may  be  merely  substitutes  for  what  was  worn 
for  superstitious  purposes;  cp.  W.  R.  Smith,  Rel.  SenO-.  416 n. 

The  practice  of  the  law  among  the  Jews,  to  which  there  are 
incidental  references  in  NT.  (Mt.  9-°  14=^*^,  Mk.  6^^  Lk.  8^S  where 
the  singular  of  KpaaireSa,  ffi's  rendering  of  Di'^i*  here,  is  used), 
continues  to  the  present  day,  though  for  long  it  has  been  cus- 
tomary to  fulfil  it  by  means  of  a  special  garment  called  tallith 
or  ^arbd  kanphoth  (cp.  Dt.  22^-),  which,  like  the  tephillin,  must 
be  worn  by  all  males  over  thirteen  years  of  age.  The  tallith  con- 
sists of  an  oblong  cloth  with  a  tassel  at  each  corner.  The  head  is 
passed  through  a  hole  in  the  middle  of  the  cloth,  which  hangs 
over  the  breast  and  back.  See,  further,  on  these  points,  as  also 
on  the  precise  regulations  for  the  manufacture  of  the  tassels 
laid  down  by  the  later  Jews  (cp.  21^°°  on  the  present  passage), 
Kennedy's  article  **  Fringes"  in  Hastings'  DB. ;  S.  A.  Cook's 
on  the  same  subject  in  EBi. ;  Driver  on  Dt.  22^^ ;  and  Schurer, 
GJV.^n.  484  (Eng.  tr.  11.  ii.  iii  f.).  The  last  gives  references 
to  a  large  amount  of  literature  devoted  to  the  subject.  An 
illustration  of  a  modern  'arbd  kanphdth  or  small  tallith,  clearly 
showing  the  nature  of  the  tassel  and  its  attachment,  may  be 
found  in  the  Jewish  Encyclopcedia,  ii.  p.  76. — 38.  The  law  as 
given  here  and  in  Dt.  22^^  is  differently  worded,  and  the  com- 
mand to  use  a  blue  cord  is  peculiar  to  Nu. 

Dt.  r\i  noan  it^^N*  imos  dddd  ymx  hvi  1^  nc'yn  ^^-m. 

Nu.  nbn  ^••ns  Pi^an  n:;''^'  hv  "lanii . .  •  nnnjn  ^233  i?y  n^*^^f  onb  lE^yi. 

The  terms  used  for  garment  are  general,  but  apparently 
the  ordinary  outer  garment  of  the  Hebrews  is  intended.  To 
each  of  the  cojmers  or  ends  of  this,  or,  as  Dt.  more  precisely 
says,  to  each  of  the  four  corners  a  tassel  is  to  be  attached. 
For  P]3D  =" corner "  or  "end"  of  a  garment  (not  as  RV. 
"border"),  see  i  S.  15^^  24^  (where  note  the  rendering  of 
G),  Hag.  2^2;  and  cp.  the  use  of  the  same  word  in  speak- 
ing of  the  "four  corners  of  the  earth"  (Is.  ii^^). — Tassels] 
The  word  n''^"'i>,  which  in  S  (cp.  C5)  is  read  as  a  pi.  (nVi»''V), 


XV.  zS,  39  IS5 

occurs  elsewhere  In  OT.  only  in  Ezek.  8',  where,  like  the 
corresponding  Aramaic  word  (xn'!i%  jiL_».0»),  it  means  a 
"lock  of  hair."  Since  in  the  parallel  passage  in  Dt.  the 
word  used  means  "twisted  cords,"  and  the  sisUh  actually 
used  by  the  later  Jews  consisted  of  cords  twisted  and  knotted, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  what  is  actually  intended  here  is  a 
"tassel"  rather  than  a  continuous  "fringe"  (RV.). — And 
place  upon  the  tassel  of  the  corner  a  thread  ofblne\  wherewith 
to  attach  the  tassel  to  the  garment.  Later,  possibly  on 
account  of  the  expense  of  the  blue  dye,  this  provision  was  so 
far  annulled  that  white  threads  were  permitted  [Menahoth 
iv.  I ;  cp.  the  Gemara  thereon  in  Talm.  B.  38a). — 39.  Afid  it 
shall  serve  you  as  a  tassel\  possibly  there  is  a  play  here  on  two 
senses  of  the  word  n^f^if  (cp.  12'^') ;  the  tassel  is  to  serve  as  an 
ornament  to  attract  the  gaze  of  the  wearer.  No  longer  is  it 
to  serve  any  superstitious  purpose,  but  it  is  to  be  a  reminder 
of  Yahweh's  commandments. — That  you  go  not  about  after 
your  heart  and  after  your  eyes]  i.e.  that  you  do  not  follow 
your  own  inclinations  and  desires  in  preference  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  law.  The  writer  is  perhaps  specially  thinking  of 
the  superstitious  purposes  which  the  tassels  had  served.  Cp. 
Dt.  29^^,  Job  31"^^-,  and  note  the  connection  in  which  the 
similar  phrase  "  to  follow  the  stubbornness  of  the  heart "  is  fre- 
quently used  by  Jeremiah,  3^'^  (after  v.^®)  9^3(14)  1512  (after  v.^^). 
With  "  to  go  about  after  the  eyes,"  cp.  "  my  heart  followed  my 
eyes,"  Job  31'^. — The  vb.  "iin  has  a  somewhat  different  sense 
from  that  with  which  it  is  used  in  c.  13  f. ;  see  13^  n.  With 
the  present,  cp.  D^nn  ^K^:N  =  "  persons  who  travel  about," 
"merchants"  (i  K.  10^^). — After  -which  ye  go  whoring]  the 
relative  in  the  present  text  must  refer  to  the  "heart"  and 
"the  eyes"  of  the  last  clause.  But  this  makes  the  clause  a 
very  pointless  addition  to  the  preceding,  and  gives  to  the 
verbal  phrase  (''inx  mi)  an  altogether  exceptional  use.  The 
object  of  this  phrase  regularly  refers  to  some  illegitimate  cult 
or  superstition  of  those  who  practise  it ;  cp.  e.g.  Lev.  17'^  20^*- 
(H),  Ex.  34^^^-  (J),  Ezek.  6^;  and  see  Driver's  note  on  Dt.  31^^. 
Possibly  the  present  text  is  corrupt,  and  the  original  referred 
to  such  superstitions  here;  see  last  n. 


I 86  NUMBERS 

33.  is'l'i]  an  unusual  instance  of  the  pf.  with  Waw  Conv.  unpreceded 
by  a  dominant  impf.  :  Dr.  Tenses,  iig  ;  is^jj;^:)  would  be  more  in  accordance 
with  analogy  :  cp.  17-  and  see  5^  n. — 39.  inx  .  .  .  rrni]  the  masc.  indicates 
that  the  reference  is  not  to  the  ns's  (fern.)  simply,  but  to  the  whole 
appendage — tassel  and  thread  together. — ddd^V]  H  uses  the  form  33*7 
{e.g.  Lev.  26^') ;  P,  on  the  other  hand,  regularly,  if  not  exclusively,  a'? ; 
see  BDB.  p.  5230. 


XVI.-XVIII.  The  rebellion  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiratn. 
The  rank  and  rights  of  the  Levites. 

Literature. — Kuenen,  "  Bijdragen  tot  de  critiek  van  Pentateuch  en 
Jozua,  iv.  De  opstand  van  Korach,  Dathan  en  Abiram,  Num.  xvi."  {Th. 
Ti.  xii.  {1878),  pp.  139-162).  This  article  has  dominated  all  subsequent 
discussions,  and  at  once  led  We.  {Comp.  339-341)  to  modify  his  earlier 
conclusions  {Jahrb.  fiir  deutsche  Theologie,  xxi.  572-576=  Cow/.  105-109). 
Among  others  who  follow  Kue.,  see  Driver,  L.O.T.  63-65;  Baudissin, 
Gesch.  des  ATliche  Pr tester thums,  34-36.  Di.  and  Bacon  {Triple 
Tradition,  190-195)»  who,  while  still  dependent  on  Kue.,  in  some  important 
respects  make  a  new  departure,  are  followed  by  CH.,  but  adversely 
criticised  by  Addis  in  EBi. 

Yahweh's  choice  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  for  superior  holiness, 
for  closer  access  to  Himself,  and  for  serving  the  priests  (16^ 
jy20(6)  i82-5),  is  shown  (i)  by  the  miraculous  death  inflicted 
on  Korah  and  his  followers,  who  claimed  equal  holiness  for 
the  whole  people  (c.  16);  and  (2)  by  the  miracle  of  the  blossom- 
ings stick  (i7io-2c(i-ii)j_  These  incidents  are  followed  by  a 
statement  of  the  relation  of  Levi,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the 
priests  and,  on  the  other,  to  the  rest  of  the  people  (18'^"'^); 
and  then  by  a  series  of  laws,  regulating  the  dues  payable  (i) 
by  the  people  {a)  to  the  priests,  {b)  to  the  Levites;  and  (2) 
by  the  Levites  to  the  priests  (i8^~^^). 

Such  is  the  relation  of  the  main  subjects  of  this  section  to 
one  another.  Combined  with  them  are  (i)  an  account  of  a 
revolt  led  by  Dathan  and  Abiram  against  the  civil  authority 
of  Moses  (i6^2^-  2s-3o^^  ^^^  ^2)  some  passages  containing  a  claim 
on  the  part  of  the  Levites  to  priestly  rank  and  privileges  {\6^~^^ 
17^  .{16*°)).  It  would  in  the  abstract  be  conceivable  that 
people,  discontented  with  the  leadership  of  Moses,  led  by 
Dathan  and  Abiram,  united  in  a  common  revolt  with  others 
under  Korah,  who  were  aggrieved  by  the  claims  to  a  superior 


xvi.-xviir.  1S7 

nollness  on  the  part  of  the  Levites,  to  whom  Moses  and  Aaron 
belonged.  But  apart  from  the  fact  that  the  leaders  are  men- 
tioned together  in  i6^-2^%  the  two  parties  always  act  separ- 
ately, and  are  finally  cut  off  by  entirely  different  acts  of  God 
(on  iS^-'^  see  n.  below).  Thus  Dathan  and  Abiram  are  not 
present  when  Korah  and  his  company  interview  Moses  and 
Aaron  (16^"^^),  for  at  the  close  of  the  interview  they  need  to  be 
summoned  to  Moses  (16^^).  And  when,  on  their  refusal  to  come, 
Moses  seeks  them  out  at  their  own  tents  and  threatens  them, 
he  has  nothing  to  say  of  Korah  (i6-^"^°).  Meantime,  however, 
Korah,  acting  quite  apart,  has  assembled  his  company  before 
the  tabernacle  to  submit  themselves  to  the  ordeal  of  the 
censers  (16^^).  Finally,  while  Dathan  and  Abiram  are 
swallowed  up  together  with  their  tents  in  an  earthquake, 
Korah's  followers  ("the  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  that 
offered  incense,"  16^)  perish  by  the  destructive  fire  that 
issued  from  Yahweh's  presence  in  the  tabernacle  (16^^,  cp. 
Lev.  10-). 

It  is  not  only  in  Nu.  16  that  Dathan  and  Abiram  stand 
apart  from  Korah ;  for  while  Dt.  1 1*^  refers  only  to  Dathan 
and  Abiram,  Nu.  27^  refers  only  to  Korah. 

It  has  therefore  long  been  recognised  that  the  story  of 
Dathan  and  Abiram  and  the  story  of  Korah  were  originally 
quite  distinct,  and  that  they  have  been  pieced  together  in  the 
present  narrative  very  mechanically,  and  with  merely  a  few 
very  unsuccessful  attempts  to  harmonise  them  (16^-^:  see 
also  on  i62^-  27). 

The  story  of  Dathan  and  Abiram  is  older  than  the  allusion 
to  it  in  Dt.  11^;  and,  in  view  of  the  close  similarity  of  the 
phraseology,  it  is  probable  that  the  form  in  which  the  author 
of  Dt.  1 1*'  read  the  story  contained  the  passage  now  repro- 
duced in  Nu.  i6(i)- 32a.  33b.  34_  •j]^q  allusion  in  Nu.  27^  to 
Korah  may  be  the  reference  of  a  writer  back  to  an  earlier 
part  of  his  own  narrative,  or  the  reference  of  a  later  writer. 
In  either  case  it  is  probable,  though,  in  view  of  some  later 
allusions  to  Korah  only,  not  certain,  that  at  the  time  the 
story  of  Korah  had  not  yet  been  united  -with  that  of  Dathan 
and  Abiram.     The  allusions  in  Ps.  106^*^"'^,  Nu.  26"^-  (a  paren- 


1 88  NUMBERS 

thesis  in  a  passage  of  P'),  and  EcgIus.  45^^  show  familiarity 
with  the  present  combination  of  the  stories.  On  26^^,  see 
note  there.  Some  later  writers  refer  to  Korah  alone  (Jude  ^^), 
some  to  Dathan  and  Abiram  alone  (4  Mace.  2^^).  If  the  stories 
of  Dathan  and  Abiram  and  of  Korah  were  orig^inally  distinct, 
then  since  Korah  alone  is  referred  to  in  Nu.  27^  which  comes 
from  P,  and  Dathan  and  Abiram  alone  in  Dt.  11^,  the  story  of 
Kora^  is  priestly  (P),  and  the  story  of  Dathan  and  Abiram 
prophetic  (JE).  These  conclusions  are  confirmed  by  the  lin- 
guistic and  other  characteristics  of  the  two  stories. 

In  17^  (i6^')-i8'^,  which  hang's  tog'ether  and  has  been  generally  recog- 
nised as  derived  from  P,  it  may  suffice  to  notice  a  few  characteristics  only, 
such  as  the  view  of  the  "glory  of  Yahweh"  and  the  theophanic  cloud  in 
17^  (16*^)  (see  notes  on  9'*  10*^  I4^'')»  and  the  formula  in  17-^(^1);  in  the 
vocabulary,  note  my  (i^  n.)  several  times,  ntj  (7^  n.)  in  17"*  ^i,  nnyn  hnn  in 
1722-23  i82,  ^Kp  (CH.  X78P)  in  17"  i85,  pip  in  iS^.  On  c.  18  see  further 
below  ;  and,  as  connecting  it  with  Ps,  note  the  sino;  "altar"  in  18^;  see 
Introd.  §  II. 

In  i6'-i7'  (16^")  as  between  P  and  JE  analysis  gives  the  following 
result : — 

JE  i6"-  (partly),  "-"•  25- 26b.  27b-32a.  33.  (except  last  clause),  ". 

P  i6i'-  (partly),  S'"-  ""^s-  26a-  27a  (mainly),  ^5  if-^{i6^^-^). 
P  is  not  homogeneous,  but  the  analysis  of  it  into  its  constituent  elements 
does  not  rest  mainly  on  linguistic  differences,  though  certain  peculiarities 
are  noticeable  in  iS^'^^-^^t.  j^i-s  .  ggg  phil.  notes  belov/. 

In  the  part  just  assigned  to  JE  note  the  following  characteristics : — 
"the  elders"  (1625),  cp.  ii^^n.  ;  "flowing  with  milk  and  honey"  (i6"'), 
cp.  132^  n.  ;  DJ  (i6i^;  CH.  126),  h  mn  (16^*;  CH.  233),  D'j-i^i,  and  on"?  ncN  ^3 
(j528.  30. 33.  CH.  231,  124),  qa  (1627;  CH.  52),  with  a  number  of  minor 
points  noticed  in  the  margins  of  CH.  and  in  some  cases  in  the  commentary 
below.  In  the  parts  assigned  to  P,  note  "the  glory  of  Yahweh  "  (16^"), 
and  my  constantly,  linn  (iG^;  CH.  22),  isah  .  .  .  -un  (i6*- 23-26»  ,^1  .  CH. 
1S5), '?nan(i6»;  CH.  53). 

Though  neither  of  the  main  themes  combined  in  c.  16  is 
preserved  quite  intact,  and  the  third  (see  below,  p.  192  f.)  was 
never  more  than  a  parasitic  growth  on  the  combination  of 
the  two  original  stories,  each  of  the  first  two  can  be  so 
nearly  recovered  that  it  will  be  well  to  reproduce  them,  and 
consider  their  leading  motives  and  purpose  separately  before 
proceeding  to  the  detailed  commentary,  though  the  pre- 
liminary discussion  and  the  commentary  are  mutually  supple- 
mentary throughout. 


XVI.-XVIII. 


189 


I  Tlie  revolt  against  the  civil  authority  of  Moses  under  the 
leadership  of  Dathan  and  Ahirani  atid  ?  On, 

Nearly  the  whole  of  the  story  as  it  was  told  in  JE  seems 
to  be  preserved  here.  The  precise  original  form  of  the  open- 
ing- sentences  (v.^-^)  cannot  be  recovered;  and  something-  be- 
tween the  opening  and  what  now  follows  in  v.^^  may  have 
been  lost. 

'  And  Dathan  and  Abiram,  sons  of  Eliab,  and  On,  the  son  of  Peleth, 
sons  of  Reuben  ...  ^  And  rose  up  before  Moses  .  .  .  men  of  fame. 
'-And  Moses  sent  to  call  Dathan  and  Abiram,  the  sons  of  Eliab:  and 
they  said,  We  will  not  come  up:  '^is  it  a  small  thing  that  thou  hast 
brought  us  up  out  of  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  to  kill  us  in  the 
wilderness,  but  thou  must  needs  make  thyself  also  a  prince  over  us? 
"  Moreover  thou  hast  not  brought  us  into  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey,  nor  given  us  inheritance  of  fields  and  vineyards :  wilt  thou  bore 
out  the  eyes  of  these  men  ?  We  will  not  come  up.  ^'  And  Moses  was  very 
wroth,  and  said  unto  Yahweh,  Turn  not  Thou  to  their  off'ering  :  I  have  not 
taken  one  ass  from  them,  neither  have  I  hurt  one  of  them.  ^  And  Moses 
rose  up  and  went  unto  Dathan  and  Abiram :  and  the  elders  of  Israel 
followed  him.  ^*And  he  said,  Depart,  I  pray  you,  from  the  tents  of 
these  wicked  men,  and  touch  nothing  of  theirs,  lest  ye  be  swept  away 
in  all  their  sins.  ^  And  Dathan  and  Abiram  came  out,  and  stood  at  the 
door  of  their  tents,  and  their  wives,  and  their  sons,  and  their  little  ones, 
"^And  Moses  said.  Hereby  ye  shall  know  that  Yahweh  hath  sent  me  to 
do  all  these  works ;  that  I  have  not  done  them  of  mine  own  mind.  ^^  If 
these  men  die  the  common  death  of  all  men,  or  if  they  be  visited  after  the 
visitation  of  all  men  ;  then  Yahweh  hath  not  sent  me.  ^  But  if  Yahweh 
make  a  new  thing,  and  the  ground  open  her  mouth,  and  swallow  them 
up,  with  all  that  is  theirs,  and  they  go  down  alive  into  Sheol ;  then  ye 
shall  understand  that  these  men  have  despised  Yahweh.  ^^  And  it  came 
to  pass,  as  he  made  an  end  of  speaking  all  these  words,  that  the  ground 
clave  asunder  that  was  under  them  :  ^  and  the  earth  opened  her  mouth, 
and  swallowed  them  up,  and  their  households.  ^  So  they,  and  all  that 
was  theirs,  went  down  alive  into  Sheol :  and  the  earth  closed  upon  them, 
and  they  perished  from  among  the  assembly.  ^  And  all  Israel  that  were 
round  about  them  fled  at  the  cry  of  them  :  for  they  said.  Lest  the  earth 
swallow  us  up  also. 

The  general  drift  and  purpose  of  the  story  is  clear. 
Dathan  and  Abiram  are  Reubenites,  and  as  such  members 
of  the  tribe  which  once  possessed,  but  had  lost,  the  primacy 
(cp.  Gn.  49'^-)  In  some  way,  not  particularly  defined  in  what 
remains  of  the  story,  they  had  disputed  the  supremacy  of 
Moses  (v.^^-).  They  defy  Moses'  summons  to  attend  before 
him  ;  upbraid  him  with  the  old  taunt  that  he  had  not  fulfilled 


190  NUMBERS 

his  promise  to  bring-  them  into  a  fruitful  land,  but  instead 
had  brought  them  out  to  die  in  the  wilderness ;  and  charge 
him  with  playing-  the  prince  over  the  people  on  the  strength 
of  the  promises  he  cannot  fulfil.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate 
that  the  rebellion  extends  beyond  the  Reubenites,  if  indeed 
beyond  the  immediate  circle  of  Dathan  and  Abiram.  The 
taunting  message,  if  intended  to  gain  further  support  for  the 
rebels,  fails  of  its  purpose,  for  Moses  is  accompanied  by  the 
"elders  of  Israel,"  the  representatives  of  the  whole  people, 
when  he  goes  to  the  quarter  of  Dathan  and  Abiram  to  threaten 
them  to  their  face.  The  divine  judgment,  like  the  judg- 
ment on  Achan  (Jos.  y^*'-  JE),  involves  the  households  and 
belongings  of  the  offenders ;  but  the  only  households  affected 
are  those  of  Dathan  and  Abiram  :   "all  Israel "  escapes. 

Certain  features  in  the  story,  such  as  the  redundance  in 
y_32-34  Q^^f^  the  presence  of  distinctive  marks  of  both  J  and  E, 
make  it  probable  that  it  is  in  itself  composite  ;  but  the  analysis 
of  these  two  sources  can  only  be  carried  into  detail  in  the  most 
tentative  way.  Whether  J  and  E  differed  materially  from  one 
another  depends  on  the  view  taken  of  On  in  v.^  and  "  the 
offering"  in  v.^. 

Di.,  Bacon,  and  CH.  detect  a  story,  assigned  to  J,  distinguished  from 
the  story  of  Dathan  and  Abiram  (assigned  to  E  largely  on  the  ground  that 
it  is  quoted  in  Dt.),  partly  by  its  making  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  revolt 
On  the  son  of  Peleth,  but  mainly  by  its  representing  the  cause  of  the 
revolt  to  have  been,  in  part  at  least,  religious,  and  to  have  lain  in  a  claim 
on  the  part  of  the  malcontents  to  exercise  sacrificial  functions.  This  is 
detected  in  Moses'  words,  "respect  not  Thou  their  offering"  (v.^^). 
Starting  from  these  points  Bacon  reconstructs  J's  story  at  length,  com- 
bining with  On,  Korah  the  son  of  Kenaz.  He  argues  that  this  story  is  the 
basis  of  P's,  who  obtains  from  it  the  name  Korah  and  the  religious  cause 
of  the  revolt.  Moreover,  it  was  this  resemblance  of  J's  story  to  P's  that 
led  the  editor  to  combine  the  story  of  JE  with  that  of  P,  which,  so  it  is 
argued,  he  would  hardly  have  done  if  that  story  had  consisted  merely  of 
a  civil  revolt  of  Dathan  and  Abiram.  In  all  important  respects  Bacon  is 
followed  by  CH.  who  analyse  thus — 

J.  V.i  ("  and  On  the  son  of  Peleth  took  "),  "• "  (to  "  honey  "),  "-  ~'^^-  "^ 
(from  "  and  their  wives  "),  ^^'^'*  '^  (to  "  into  Sheol  "). 

E.  V.^'*  ("and  Dathan  and  Abiram,  the  sons  of  Eliab,  son  of  Reuben, 
roseupbeforeMoses"),i2.i4b.ii5.27b(andDathan.  .  .  tents),  s-^- 2^- H 

On  the  other  hand,  "On  the  son  of  Peleth  "  maybe  merely  the  creation 
of  textual  corruption;  and  Moses'   reference  to  the  "offering"  can  be, 


xvi.-xviii.  191 

though  perhaps  not  altog-ether  satisfactorily,  explained  without  the  im- 
plication given  to  it  by  Di.  and  Bacon.  In  that  case  no  reason  remains 
for  supposing-  that  the  story  of  the  revolt  was  told  in  any  substantially 
different  form  in  the  two  sources. 

2.  The  revolt  of  representatives  of  the  whole  people  under 
Korah  against  the  Levites  [represented  by  Moses  and  Aaron)  in 
vindication  of  their  equal  holiness  (P^). 

This  narrative  runs  as  follows : — 

*  Now  Korah  and  some  men  of  the  children  of  Israel,  two  hundred 
and  fifty,  princes  of  the  congregation,  called  to  meetings  (?  men  of 
repute)  .  .  . :  ^  and  they  assembled  themselves  together  against  Moses 
and  against  Aaron,  and  said  unto  them.  Enough  [ye  sons  of  Levi,]  for 
all  the  congregation  are  holy,  every  one  of  them,  and  Yahweh  is  among 
them  :  (?  wherefore  then  lift  ye  up  yourselves  above  the  assembly  of 
Yahweh  ?)  ^  And  when  Moses  heard  it,  he  fell  upon  his  face  :  '  and  he 
spake  unto  Korah  and  unto  all  .  .  .  saying.  In  the  morning  Yahweh 
will  make  known  him  that  is  His  ;  and  him  that  is  holy  will  He  cause  to 
come  near  unto  Him  :  even  him  whom  He  shall  choose  will  He  cause  to 
come  near  unto  Him.  ^  This  do :  take  you  censers ;  '  and  put  fire  therein, 
and  put  incense  upon  them  before  Yahweh  to-morrow  :  and  it  shall  be 
that  the  man  whom  Yahweh  doth  choose,  he  shall  be  holy.  ^^  And 
they  took  every  man  his  censer,  and  put  fire  in  them,  and  laid  incense 
thereon,  and  stood  at  the  door  of  the  tent  of  meeting  with  Moses  and 
Aaron.  ^^  And  Korah  assembled  all  the  congregation  against  them 
unto  the  door  of  the  tent  of  meeting- :  and  the  glory  of  Yahweh 
appeared  unto  all  the  congregation. 

-"  And  Yahweh  spake  unto  Moses  and  unto  Aaron,  saying,  ^*  Sepa- 
rate yourselves  from  among-  this  congregation,  that  I  may  consume 
them  in  a  moment.  ^  And  they  fell  upon  their  faces,  and  said,  O  God, 
the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  shall  one  man  sin,  and  wilt  Thou  be 
wroth  with  all  the  congregation  ?  ^  And  Yahweh  spake  unto  Moses, 
saying,  ^  Speak  unto  the  congregation,  saying-,  Get  ye  up  from  about 
the  tabernacle  [of  Yahweh].  -^  And  he  spake  unto  the  congregation, 
sa3'ing  ...  ^  So  they  gat  them  up  from  the  tabernacle  [of  Yahweh] 
on  every  side.  '^  And  fire  came  forth  from  Yahweh,  and  devoured  the 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men  that  offered  the  incense. 
17'  (16^^)  But  on  the  morrow  all  the  congregation  ot  the  children  of 
Israel  murmured  against  Moses  and  against  Aaron,  saying,  Ye  have 
killed  the  people  of  Yahweh.  '  (^-'  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  con- 
gregation was  assembled  against  Moses  and  against  Aaron,  that  they 
looked  toward  the  tent  of  meeting :  and,  behold,  the  cloud  covered  it, 
and  the  glory  of  Yahweh  appeared.  ^  (*^)  And  Moses  and  Aaron  came 
to  the  front  of  the  tent  of  meeting.  ^  (^>  And  Yahweh  spake  unto 
Moses,  saying,  ^^  <'^)  Get  you  up  from  among  this  congregation,  that  I 
may  consume  them  in  a  moment.  And  they  fell  upon  their  faces. 
^^  W  And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  Take  thy  censer,  and  put  fire  therein 
from  off  the  altar,  and  lay  incense  thereon,  and  carry  it  quickly  unto 


192  NUMBERS 

tlie  congregfation,  and  make  propitiation  for  them  :  for  tlie  wrath  has 
gone  out  from  Yahweh  ;  the  plague  is  begun.  '-  (■'^)  And  Aaron  took 
as  Moses  spake,  and  ran  into  the  midst  of  the  ass-^mbly  ;  and,  behold, 
the  plague  was  begun  among  the  people  :  and  he  put  on  the  incense, 
and  made  propitiation  for  the  people.  '^  W  And  he  stood  between  the 
dead  and  the  living  ;  and  the  plagnie  was  stayed.  ^*  W  Now  they  that 
died  by  the  plague  were  fourteen  thousand  and  seven  hundred,  besides 
them  that  died  about  the  matter  of  Korah.  ^*  C"'  And  Aaron  returned 
unto  Moses  unto  the  door  of  the  tent  of  meeting,  the  plague  having 
been  stayed. 

Then  follow  in  immediate  sequence  the  story  of  the  blossom- 
ing of  Aaron's  stick  in  vindication  of  the  superiority  of  Levi 
^  jyi6-26  (1-11)),  and  the  regulations  for  the  payment  of  dues  to  the 
priests  and  Levites  (c.  18). 

The  real  point  of  this  important  story  was  for  long-  obscured 
owing  to  the  additions  made  by  a  later  writer,  who  turned 
Korah  and  "  all  his  company  "  into  Levites.  Korah's  company 
in  this  story  are  jwi  all  Levites ;  probably  none  of  them  were 
Levites  ;  the  two  parties  to  the  struggle  throughout  are  Moses 
and  Aaron  (as  representing  the  Levites)  on  the  one  side,  and 
"  the  whole  of  the  congregation,"  i.e.  the  whole  of  the  rest  of 
the  people  (cp.  i^  n.),  on  the  other.  Associated  with  Koralp 
are  250  princes  of  the  "congregation"  (16^),  i.e.  of  all  Israel. 
Korah  champions  the  cause  of  the  whole  congregation  (16^),  and 
the  people  identify  themselves  with  the  leaders  when  they  perish 
by  the  divine  judgment  (17^  (i6*^))«  The  writer  of  27^  quite 
clearly  assumes  that  Korah's  followers  were  not  exclusively 
Levites,  for  he  goes  out  of  his  way  to  explain  that  Selophehad, 
though  a  Manassite,  was  not  a  follower  of  Korah.  When  the 
intrusive  passages  ot  P*  have  been  removed,  nothing  remains 
to  indicate  that  either  Korah  himself  or  any  of  his  followers 
ranked  in  P*^  as  Levites. 

3.   T/ie  claim  of  the  Levites  to  priestly  privileges  (P^). 

In  c.  16  f.  there  are  now  inserted  in  P*^'s  story  of  Korah 
several  passages  which  by  their  style  betray  their  origin  in 
the  priestly  school,  but  which  represent  an  entirely  different 
point  of  view.  These  passages,  which  never  formed  an  inde- 
pendent story,  are  i68-"- ^^f-  \f--^  {\^'^'^^%  in  addition  to  that 
part  of  v.^  which  contains  the  genealogy  of  Korah.  In  these 
verses   all    Israel   except    Levi   drop   entirely   into   the   back- 


XVI.  I  193 

ground,  for  they  have  no  concern  in  this  dispute  :  the  struggle 
is  confined  to  the  tribe  of  Levi.  The  object  of  these  passages 
is  to  condemn  the  non-Aaronic  Levites  for  seeking  the  priest- 
liood.  This  comes  out  clearly  in  16^"^^ :  Moses  recognises  in 
the  rebels  a  class  already  distinguished  from  "the  congrega- 
tion of  Israel,"  and  admitted  to  a  closer  access  to  Yahweh. 
It  is  no  longer  here  a  struggle  for  equal  rights  for  the  whole 
congregation,  but  a  struggle  for  equal  rights  within  a  class 
snarpiy  marked  off  from  the  rest.  Korah's  company  are  here 
already  in  undisputed  possession  of  what  in  the  foregoing 
story  they  rise  in  revolt  to  claim.  The  same  point  of  view  is 
represented  in  17^"^  {\6-^^~^^)\  note,  especially,  the  moral — that 
110  stranger  which  is  not  of  the  seed  of  Aaron  come  near  to  bxirn 
incense  before  Yahweh  (17^  {16'^^)).  And  to  the  same  hand  we 
may  also  refer  i6^^^- — a  parallel  to  i6''^-  in  P^. 

The  inserted  passag-es  reflect  some  struggle,  of  which  we  have  no 
direct  record,  between  the  priests  and  the  Levites.  The  question  has 
been  much  discussed,  especially  by  Vogelstein,  Der  Kavipf  zwischen 
Priestem  und  Leviten  seit  den  Tagen  Ezechiels  (1889),  whose  work  is 
reviewed  in  an  important  article  by  Kuenen  in  Th.  Ti.  xxiv.  1-42  {=Gesam- 
fnelte  Abhandlungen,  ed.  Budde,  p.  465  ff.),  the  closing-  section  of  which  in 
particular  deals  with  the  place  of  Nu.  16-18  in  the  history  of  the  priest- 
hood. Vogelstein  is  inclined  to  place  the  struggle  of  the  Levites,  reflected 
in  P^'s  additions  to  Nu.  16  f.,  before  the  close  of  the  5th  cent.  B.C. ;  Kuenen, 
with  more  reason,  inclines  to  a  later  date.  Centuries  later,  even  when  the 
Levites  had  sunk  to  the  insignificant  position  which  they  held  in  the  ist 
cent.  A.D.,  they  yet  succeeded  in  making  good  a  minor  pretension  to  priestly 
privileges,  obtaining  from  Agrippa  n.  the  right  to  wear  the  priestly  linen 
(Jos.  Ant.  XX.  9*). 

1,  2.  The  leaders  of  the  rebellion. — These  are,  according  to 
the  present  narrative,  a  Levite,  Korah,  and  three  Reubenites — 
Dathan,  Abiram,  and  On  ;  also  two  hundred  and  fifty  unnamed 
"  princes." — Korah,  the  son  of  Ishar,  the  S07i  of  Kohath,  the  son 
of  Levi]  Ex.  6i«- 18-21,  i  Ch.  622f-  '(37f.)  c;ni.  ^7  ^^it.  22^  jhe  clause 
is  from  P ;  but  the  genealogy  does  not  appear  to  be  ancient ; 
it  is  earlier  in  origin  than  Ch.  (see  preceding  references), 
but  later  than  P^;  for  Ex.  6^^"-^  is  an  insertion  of  P^  between 
the  question  of  Ex.  6^^  and  the  answer  of  y^  in  P^'s  narrative. 
A  certain  Korah,  on  the  other  hand,  appears  in  i  Ch.  2'*^  as 
descended  from  Judah  (i  Ch.  2^)  and  as  "son"  of  Hebron. 
^3 


194  NUMBERS 

Now  the  Levitical  Korah  is  a  ^^nepJiew"  of  Hebron  (Ex. 
518.  21^^  ii  js  therefore  highly  probable  *  that  the  two  Korahs 
are  in  reality  one  and  the  same;  that  Korah  of  Judah  was,  by 
later  genealogists,  converted  into  Korah  the  Levite,  just  as 
the  originally  Ephraimite  Samuel  (i  S.  i^-  ^^^•)  is  provided  in 
later  times  with  a  Levitical  descent  (i  Ch.  6^^^^^^).  There  was 
good  reason  for  the  transformation  ;  for  Korah  was  the  eponym 
of  an  important  guild  of  singers  (cp.  the  titles  to  Ps.  42-49) 
who  became  incorporated  with  the  Levites,  presumably  at 
some  time  subsequent  to  Ezra,  when  the  singers  were  still 
distinguished  from  Levites  (Ezr.  z*"^).!  Since  P^'s  story  does 
not  require  Korah  to  be  a  Levite,  but  rather  excludes  such  an 
origin  for  the  leader  of  a  revolt  of  the  "whole  congregation  " 
against  the  exclusive  claims  of  Levi,  and  since  it  is  essential  to 
the  point  of  view  of  P^  that  Korah  should  be  a  Levite,  the 
insertion  of  the  genealogy  of  Korah  is  to  be  attributed  to  P\ 
In  P^,  then,  Korah  was  probably  understood,  if  not  directly 
stated,  to  be  a  Judahite;  the  leader  of  the  revolt  is  thus  a 
member  of  the  leading  secular  tribe  (p.  14,  18).  It  is  possible,  as 
Bacon  suggests,  that  P  obtained  the  name  from  J ;  in  any  case  it 
is  probable  that  some  ancient  tradition  lies  at  the  base  of  P's 
story,  and  that  the  name  of  Korah  belonged  to  that  tradition. 
— Dathan  and  Ahirain\  These  names  come  from  JE.  Whether 
the  names  appeared  in  both  sources  of  JE  is  uncertain  ;  prob- 
ably they  appeared  at  least  in  E,  since  they  are  referred  to  in 
Dt.  11^.  Abiram,  meaning  "the  (my)  father  is  exalted,"  is  an 
ancient  personal  name  {HPN.  22-34) ;  both  origin  and  mean- 
ing of  Dathan  are  obscure.  On  the  son  of  Peleth  plays  no 
further  part  in  the  story,  nor  is  he  ever  referred  to  in  any 
of  the  allusions  to  this  narrative.  Harmonists  [e.g.  Keil) 
explained  this  on  the  ground  that  "he  probably  withdrew 
from  the  conspiracy."  Two  plausible  explanations  have  been 
offered  of  this  isolated  reference:  (i)  Many;  have  considered 

*  The  appreciation  of  the  extent  of  this  probability  rests  on  familiarity 
with  the  methods  of  ancient  and,  especially,  Hebrew  g-enealogists.  The 
reader  may  consult  on  this  point  with  much  profit  Mr,  S.  A.  Cook's  article 
"  Genealogies  "  in  EBi. 

t  Cp.  W.  R.  Smith,  Old  Test,  in  the  Jewish  Church,"^  203  . 

*  Graf,  Kohler,  Kue.,  Di.,  Nold.,  Str.,  Patcrson. 


XVI.  2  195 

the  present  clause  to  be  textually  corrupt,  pXI  being  a  corrupt 
repetition  of  the  last  letters  of  the  preceding  word  3^^''  (^x)  and 
ri'?Q~p  a  corruption  of  {Nli'D'p.  On  this  assumption  On  dis- 
appears, and  v.^  (from  *'  Dathan  "  to  the  end)  originally  ran — 
Aftd  Dathan  and  Ahiram,  sons  of  Eli^ab,  son  of  Pallti,  son 
(fflrShere:  Dt.  \\^  "^  of  Reuben.  This  genealogy  is  certainly 
known  to  P  (26^"^,  Gn.  46^,  Ex.  6^*),  but  how  much  earlier  it 
may  be  cannot  be  determined,  for  Dt,  11^  does  not  mention 
Pallu.  (2)  Others  *  see  in  On  the  son  of  Peleth  the  name  of 
one  of  the  ringleaders  in  J's  parallel  to  E's  story  of  Dathan 
and  Abiram.  This  explains  the  isolated  reference  to  On  less 
well  than  (i).  The  name  On  is  closely  allied  to  the  Edomite 
and  Jerahmeelite  clan -name  Onam  (Gn.  36-^,  i  Ch.  2^6), 
the  Judahite  clan -name  Onan  (26^*^),  and  the  name  of  an 
ancient  southern  town,  Ono  (Neh.  6^ ;  list  of  Thothmes  iii., 
cp.  W.  M.  Miiller,  Asien  u.  Etiropa^  I59)>  ^"d  Ben-oni,  accord- 
ing to  story,  the  name  given  by  his  mother  to  Benjamin  (Gn. 
35^^).  This  affinity  of  On  with  a  series  of  names  belonging  to 
Southern  Palestine  might  be  explained  either,  if  On  is  correctly 
described  as  Reubenite,  by  assuming  an  earlier  settlement  of 
Reuben  W.  of  Jordan,!  or  by  assuming  that  On  in  the  source 
was  described  as  Judahite ;  the  latter  is  probable  enough,  if 
On  be  derived  from  J.  Note  also  that  Peleth  is  elsewhere  a 
Jerameelite  name,  i  Ch.  2^^.  For  Bacon's  identification  ot 
Peleth  with  Philistine  there  seems  little  ground. — Now  Korah 
.  .  .  took]  the  verb  np''1  is  left  without  an  object.  That  there 
is  an  intentional  ellipsis  of  the  object  "men  "  (RV.)  is  highly 
improbable.  Either  np'')  is  a  corruption,  possibly  of  Dp''1  =  7t07o 
Korah  arose ;  J  or  it  is  a  fragment  of  a  sentence,  the  object  of 
the  verb  having  been  omitted  by  accident  or  design  in  the  pro- 
cess of  compilation  from  the  several  sources.  Adopting  the 
latter  view.  Bacon  and  CH.  suggest  that  the  original  object 
was  **  the  offering  "  referred  to  in  v.^^ — 2.  The  construction 
of  the  V.  is  loose  in  consequence,  perhaps,  of  the  insertion  in 
P,  whence  its  main  substance  is  drawn,  of  some  clauses  from 

*  Bacon,  CH.;  see  above,  p.  190. 

t  Cp.  Steuernagel,  Ein-juanderu7ig,  15  ff.;  Clieyne  in  EBi.  s.v.  "  On." 

J  Kuc.,  Di.,  Sir.,  Patcrson. 


196  NUMBERS 

JE. — And  ihey  rose  up  before  Moses]  JE  ;  P's  parallel,  and  they 
assembled  together  against  Moses  and  Aaron  (cp.  \'f  (16*^)), 
follows  in  v.^.  The  difference  is  characteristic.  Dathan  and 
Abiram  rebel  against  Moses  (v.^^-  ^^^  ^-  2^),  Korah  against  Moses 
and  Aaron  (v.^-  is-  20  176-  7.  8  (1541.  42.  43))  _^„^  „,^^  ^f  ^j^g  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  two  hundred  and  fifty]  The  number  is  certainly 
from  P ;  see  v.^'.  Bacon  may  be  right  in  assigning  the  first 
clause  to  E,  but  it  scarcely  formed  the  immediate  sequence  in 
the  source  to  the  clause  that  precedes  it. — Priyices  of  the  con- 
gregation] d^^  w.  31^^  32^,  Ex.  16--  (all  P).  The  phrase  must 
come  from  P,  for  both  terms  are  highly  characteristic  of  that 
writer  ;  for  K^'K'J,  see  7^  n.,  and  for  my,  i^  phil.  n.  In  JE  such 
people  would  be  called  "  elders,"  as  indeed  they  are  in  v.^^,  or 
"captains"  (Citi').  The  assignment  of  this  clause  to  P  is 
important  in  determining  the  point  of  the  story ;  the  leaders  who 
act  with  Korah  are  representatives  of  the  non-Levitical  tribes : 
cp.  27^,  and  see  p.  192,  above. — Called  to  meetings]  the  phrase 
(lyiJD  ''Xip)  is  not  the  same  as  that  found  in  i^";  but  see  phil.  n. 
there.  It  occurs  nowhere  else,  and  the  precise  meaning  is  un- 
certain ;  the  undefined  lyiD  may  have  a  collective  force,  and 
the  whole  phrase  may  define  these  persons  as  those  who  were 
summoned  to  meetings  for  consultation ;  cp.  (&  cvvK\.y]Toi 
^ovKr)<:;. — Men  of  name]  with  DC  '•'t^^iX  here,  cp.  DCn  ^y:;'i^  in 
Gn.  6*  (J),  and  niJDC'  "ti'JN  in  i  Ch.  5^*  1230.  j^  j^g  present 
position  the  phrase  scarcely  means  more  than  "  men  of  repute, 
of  recognised  social  position  "  :  cp.  Job  30^  where  social  out- 
casts are  termed  "nameless"  (DtJ'  "73  ^33),  and  the  use  of 
"name"  in  Pr.  22^  Ecclus.  41^-.  If  the  phrase  come  from 
JE  it  may  in  its  original  position,  like  the  similar  phrases  in 
Gn.  and  Ch.,  have  had  the  slightly  fuller  sense  of  "famous 
men";  for  "name"  often  means  "  fame"  {e.g.  2  S.  7^). 

3-7.  Korah  maintains  the  equal  holiness  of  all  Israel. — 
Korah  and  his  company  assemble  before  Moses  and  Aaron, 
assert  the  equal  holiness  of  the  whole  people,  and  condemn 
Moses  and  Aaron  for  their  assumption  of  superior  holiness. 
Moses  invites  the  rebels  to  s abject  themselves  and  their  claim 
to  the  test  of  a  divine  decision  by  a  kind  of  ordeal  (cp.  p.  44f.)> 
and  for  this  purpose  to  attend  before  Yahweh  tlie  next  day 


XVI.  3  197 

with  censers  filled  with  fire  and  incense. — 3.  And  tJiey  caine 
together  to  Moses  and  Aaron]  In  itself  the  phrase  expresses  no 
hostile  intent :  cp.  Ex.  32^.  According  to  the  present  com- 
posite narrative,  the  subject  must  include  all  the  persons 
mentioned  in  v.^'- ;  but  this  is  inconsistent  with  the  implication 
of  v.^2-  ^  that  Dathan  and  Abiram  remained  in  their  tents  till 
Moses  came  to  them.  In  P  the  subject  of  the  verb  is  Korah 
and  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  princes.  See,  further,  on  this 
clause  the  n.  on  and  they  rose  up  before  Moses  in  v. 2. — Enot/gh  /] 
of  your  pretensions.  The  meaning  of  DD?  21  may  be  gathered 
from  passages  like  Dt.  i^  2^,  in  which  the  subject  is  expressed. 
The  phrase  is  often  used,  as  here,  elliptically :  see  Dt.  3^^, 
Ezek.  45^;  but  the  instances  do  not  favour  the  view  of  the 
ellipsis  represented  in  RV,  "Ye  take  too  much  upon  you." 
The  phrase  recurs  in  v.'^,  with  the  addition  of  "ye  sons  of 
Levi,"  and  there  forms  the  conclusion  of  Moses'  words  to 
Korah  and  his  company.  But  the  final  clause  of  v.^  is  really 
out  of  place,  for  the  persons  addressed  are  not  (all)  Levites, 
nor  is  enotigh  a  suitable  sequence  to  the  words  that  precede. 
On  the  other  hand,  Korah  may  well  have  addressed  Moses 
and  Aaron  as  "sons  of  Levi."  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that 
in  P^,  Korah's  speech  began  with  Enough,  ye  sons  of  Levi,  or, 
possibly,  as  CH.  suggest,  that  these  words  originally  stood  at 
the  end  of  v.^.  The  speech,  in  that  case,  began  and  ended 
with  the  same  abrupt  reproof.  The  words  owe  their  place  in 
v.'^  to  P^,  who  turns  Korah  and  his  followers  into  Levites. — 
The  whole  congregation,  yea,  all  of  them  are  holy]  not  merely 
as  a  whole  is  Israel  holy  in  virtue  of  Yahweh's  presence  in 
their  midst  (cp.  5^),  but  the  individual  Israelites  are,  one  and 
all,  irrespective  of  the  tribe  to  which  they  belong,  holy  :  such 
is  the  principle  for  which  Korah  contends. — And  Yahiveh  is 
among  them]  The  clause  is  from  P  ;  J,  to  whom  Di.  and  Bacon 
assign  it,  would  have  written  not  D3in3  (cp.  5^,  Ex.  25^  (P)), 
but  Dn-ip2  (ii20  (J)):  see  CH.  22''  s^'^-—'^^^  (^0  ye  lift  your- 
selves up  above  the  assembly  of  Vahwe/i]  this  sentence  might, 
with  better  reason  than  the  last,  be  referred  to  JE  on  the 
ground  of  its  style  ;  but  if  so,  an  originally  sing.  vb.  addressed 
to  Moses  has  been  turned  into  a  pi.  addressed  to  Moses  and 


198  NUMBERS 

Aaron.  The  vb.  (tJiJ'jnn)  occurs,  not  quite  with  its  present 
signification,  in  two  poetical  passages  (23^*  24^^) :  otherwise  it 
is  not  found  again  in  the  Hexateuch ;  but  see  i  K.  i^,  Ezek. 
29^^^;  cp.  also  I  Ch.  29^^  where,  with  Yahweh  as  subject,  the 
signification  is  necessarily  different.  The  interrogative  (DIID) 
is  found  but  once  besides  in  P  (Lev.  10^'^  (P^)) ;  it  occurs  9  times 
in  JE  {e.g.  128;  CH.  220^^).— YahweJis  assembly]  20*  (P),  Dt. 
233-4-  (cp.  Lam.  iio,  Neh.  13I)  9.(1-3.8)^  Mic.  2^,  i  Ch.  288!. 
On  bT\\>,  see  10^  n.;  and,  on  the  usage  of  the  whole  phrase, 
Corn,  in  ZATW.  xi.  23-25. — 4.  And  Moses  .  .  .fell  on  his  face] 
14^  n.  The  same  action  is  twice  referred  to  both  Moses  and 
Aaron  later  in  the  narrative  (16^^  17^^^  [16^^)).  The  restriction 
of  it  to  Moses  here  may  be  the  result  of  fusion  of  sources  at 
this  point,  v.^^  possibly  coming  from  JE. — 5.  All  his  cojnpany] 
my  is  so  regularly  used  by  P^  of  the  whole  of  Israel  (i^  phil.  n.) 
that  the  present  very  restricted  use  is  decidedly  strange : 
further,  in  the  present  story  Korah  speaks  for  and  represents 
"all   the   congregation"  (v.^^- 2i- 24   176.7.10.11    (j6^i- *2.  45.  4C')). 

Either  "all  the  congregation,"  or,  rather,  "the  two  hundred 
and  fifty  princes  of  the  congregation  "  (who,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  accept  Moses'  challenge,  v.^^),  was  originally  read  here  in 
P^;  the  present  phrase  has  been  substituted  by  P^  (cp.  v.^^-  ^° 
17^  (16*°))  in  order  to  maintain  his  different  point  of  view, 
that  not  all  Israel,  as  in  P%  but  only  a  section,  viz.  the  Levites, 
are  calling  in  question  the  position  of  the  leaders. — In  the 
morning]  Ex.  16^  (P). —  Yahweh  will  make  kiiown  him  thai  is  His; 
and  him  that  is  holy  will  He  suffer  to  come  near  Him,  even  hhn 
whom  He  chooses  will  He  suffer  to  come  near  Hiin]  the  balance  of 
the  clauses  favours  the  foregoing  rather  than  the  rendering  of 
RV.,  "Yahweh  will  show  who  are  His,  and  who  is  holy,  and 
will  cause  him  to  come  near,"  etc.  In  using  the  sing,  here 
and  in  v.^  the  writer  has  in  mind  a  whole  class  (the  Levites 
who  are  represented  by  Moses  and  Aaron)  rather  than  an 
individual ;  cp.  the  representative  character  of  the  individual 
in  1720  (5)^  the  representative  use  of  thou  in  v.^'^  (  =  Korah  and 
his  followers),  and  see  n.  on  20^*.  According  to  the  degree  in 
which  Yahweh  appropriates  anyone,  in  other  words,. according 
to  the  degree  of  His  holiness  (see  n.  after  17^),  can  he  approach 


XVI.  4-7  199 

Yaluveh  with  safety ;  such  is  the  g-eneral  principle  embodied 
in  the  arrangement  of  the  camp  (see  p.  i8).  But  the  term 
.  *'  bring"  near  "  (to  Yahweh)  may  here  include  a  somewhat  more 
specific  sense,  strictly  applicable  only  to  the  priests  who  were 
included  among  the  Levites.  In  P  the  regular  term  for  a 
sacrificial  oflfering  is  the  thing  "brought  near"  (pip).  Not 
unnaturally,  then,  the  same  writer  uses  the  vb.  "to  come 
near"  (unp)  with  the  special  technical  sense  of  approaching 
Yahweh  at  the  altar.  Hence  it  was  used  predominantly  of  the 
priests,  17^,  Lev.  16^  21^''  10^;  so  also  by  Ezek.  (40**^).  But 
the  use  of  this  phrase  with  reference  to  the  Levites,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  priests^  in  v.*^-  is  probably  confined  to  P^  Li 
3*^,  probably  also  in  iS^,  the  Levites  are  said  to  "be  brought 
near  "  to  the  priests,  which  is  a  different  matter ;  cp.  Baudissin, 
Priesterthtim,  29  f.,  116.  In  Ps.  65^^*^  P's  technical  sense 
of  the  vb.  may  be  in  the  writer's  mind,  but  he  himself  uses 
the  vb.  metaphorically. — 6.  Ce7isers^  or,  as  RV.  renders  the 
same  word  in  Ex.  27^,  fire-pans,  nnno  means  something  with 
which  hot  coals  could  be  snatched  up  (nnn  Is.  30^*)  and  taken 
from  one  place  to  another.  Except  in  the  present  narrative 
the  nnno  is  mentioned  as  a  receptacle  for  incense  only  in 
Lev.  10^  16^2.  A  more  distinctive  term  for  censer  is  DiDpD 
(Ezek.  8",  2  Ch.  26^^). — Korah  and  all  his  company\  scarcely  a 
true  vocative  clause  in  spite  of  the  principle  explained  in  Dr. 
Tenses^  198,  Obs.  2.  It  is  rather  a  note  by  P%'  see  ist  note  on 
v.^. — 7.  Put  fire  in  them  a?id  set  incense  on  ihem\  Lev.  10^. — 
Before  Yahweh]  i.e.  as  defined  in  v.^^  (cp.  v.^),  at  the  "tent 
of  meeting":  cp.  5^^n. — Enough!  ye  sons  of  Levi]  the  clause 
is  out  of  place:  see  n.  on  v.^.  The  persons  addressed  in  v.^"^ 
are  not  Levites. 

1.  np"i]  The  versions  contain  paraphrases  rather  than  variants.  The 
present  text  already  existed  and  its  difficulty  was  felt  when  they  were 
made  :  G  xal  iXdXrjjev,  S>  (and  similarly  C)  -t__l.£)Z|0  :  U  ecce  aiitcni. — 3. 

cSo  ny^'n  '?d]  D'73  strengthens  the  preceding-  plirase  with  "jd  as  in  Is.  14'^, 
Ezek.  ii^'(K6n.  iii.  340^);  the  pi.  ctyip  distributes  the  collective  subj. — 
S.  VTl  "ip^]  The  cstr.,  which  is  comparatively  rare  (Dr.  Tenses,  125),  is 
found  also  in  Ex.  12*  (P). — ^  is,  in  ffi*^'',  less  verbally  tautologous  with 
5*  than  in  fl] — koI  oDj  ovk  i^eXi^aro  iavri^  ov  TrpoarjyayeTO  Trpbs  iavrdu. 


200  NUMBERS 

8-11  (P').  The  Levites  claim  an  equal  right  to  the  priest- 
hood with  the  priests. — Moses,  addressing-  Korah  in  particular, 
and  the  whole  body  of  Levites  generally,  upbraids  them  with 
discontent  at  the  position  assigned  to  them  by  God  in  virtue 
of  which,  as  distinguished  from  the  other  tribes,  they  "come 
near"  to  Yahweh,  or,  in  other  words,  attend  to  the  service  of 
the  tabernacle.  In  claiming,  as  they  now  do,  the  priesthood, 
it  is  not  Aaron's,  i.e.  the  priests',  self-assumed  authority  that 
they  are  calling-  in  question  ;  they  are  rebels  against  Yahweh 
Himself,  since  the  distinction  between  priests  and  Levites  is 
by  divine  ordinance. 

These  verses  by  themselves  are  clear  enough :  it  is  the 
priesthood ihdii  is  in  question  ;  Korah,  representing  the  Levites, 
claims  it  for  the  whole  tribe ;  Moses  insists  that  it  is  the 
right  of  Aaron  and  his  seed  alone.  The  contrast  is  between 
the  Levites  and  the  family  of  Aaron ;  Moses  is  the  arbiter : 
cp.  v.^^'-  17^"^.  This  is  irreconcilable  with  the  preceding  verses 
and  the  passages  connected  with  them,  in  spite  of  the  attempts 
of  the  editor  in  v.^-'^  (see  notes)  to  make  them  consistent. 
Note  in  particular  that  the  distinction  to  the  existence  of,  or 
to  the  attempt  to  establish,  which  Korah  objects,  on  behalf  of 
the  whole  congregation  in  v.^,  is  here  a  distinction  which 
Korah  himself  already  enjoys,  but  considers  insufficient.  In 
v.*"'^  Korah  claims  the  right,  which  is  withheld  from  him,  to 
"draw  near  "  to  God  ;  in  v.^  he  is  distinguished  by  the  posses- 
sion of  this  right. — 8.  Moses  addresses  the  Levites.  Korah  is 
here  a  Levite;  see  v.^  (the  genealogy).  He  is  addressed,  as 
the  leader  of  the  tribe,  by  name  ;  but  the  speech  is  to  the  whole 
tribe — -ye  sons  of  Levi. — 9.  Is  it  too  little  for  you  that  the  God 
of  Israel  hath  separated  you  (8^*  P^)  fro7n  the  rest  of  the  con- 
gregation of  Israel  to  bring  you  near  to  Him  (v.^  n.),  to  serve 
the  service  of  the  tabernacle  of  Yahweh  (3'^),  and  to  stand  before 
the  congregation  to  serve  them  (3^n.)?  To  "stand  before" 
and  "to  serve"  are  synonymous  expressions;  cp.  Dt.  i^^ 
with  Nu.  1 1^^. — 11.  Therefore  thou  a?id  all  thy  company  (v.^  n.) 
are  those  who  have  gathered  together  against  Yahweh  (14^^)] 
in  seeking  the  priesthood  Korah  and  the  priests  are  rebels 
ag-ainst  Yahweh  ;  why  should   they  murmur  against  Aaron, 


XVI.  8-iS  201 

since  the  priesthood  is  not  of  his  but  Yahweh's  making.     A 
similar  condensed  argument  occurs  in  Ex.  i6^^  (P). 

8.  Knycr]  w  also  occurs  in  P*  in  Jos.  22-' ;  but  though  used  over  a 
hundred  times  in  JE,  it  never  occurs  in  Pe  (CH.  1S6).  Its  occasional  use 
in  P=  is  one  indication  that  P*  was  more  influenced  than  P^  by  the  earlier 
styles. — 9f.  Dnrpai  .  .  .  '3  .  .  .  eyon]  virtually  the  same  construction  is 
found  in  Jos.  22'^''  (P^)  (the  last  clause  introduced  by  the  waw ;  but,  on 
account  of  the  intervening^  subj.,  the  verb  is  impf.).  For  other  instances  of 
sentences  after  Dj?Dn,  see  BDB.  p.  590 ;  and  for  the  interrogative  sentence 
without  an  interrog.  particle,  G.-K.  150a  ;  Dr.  Tenses,  %  119. 

12-15  (JE).  Dathan  and  Abiram  summoned.  Moses  defied, 
and  his  leadership  questioned  on  the  ^ound  of  incompetence. — 
12.  We  will  not  come  np\  The  message  ends  with  the  same 
flat  refusal  to  attend  the  summons  (v.^*).  The  vb.  (n^y)  is 
sometimes  used  of  going  to  a  superior,  or  a  judge  (Gn.  46^^, 
Dt.  25''',  Jud.  4^). — 13.  A  land  flowing-  with  milk  and  honey] 
13^^  n.  The  phrase  occurs  8  times  in  J,  never  in  E,  according 
to  CH.  (34^^).  Quite  exceptionally  it  is  here  used  of  Egypt — 
effectively  from  the  standpoint  of  the  rebels. — To  kill  us  in  the 
wilderness]  20*,  Ex.  17^. — 13b.  Cp.  Ex.  2^*. — 14.  Is  Moses 
bent  on  throwing  dust  in  the  eyes  of  the  Israelites  by  the 
promise,  which  he  cannot  or  will  not  fulfil,  to  lead  the  people 
into  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey?  cp.  Ex.  4^*^  in  the 
light  of  Ex.  3^^-.  The  figure  in  the  Hebrew  phrase  wilt  thou 
bore  out  the  eyes?  (used  literally  in  Jud.  16-^)  is  stronger  than, 
but  seems  equivalent  to,  the  English  "throw  dust  in  the  eyes 
of." — Fields  and  vineyards]  the  terms  are  collective  singulars  : 
cp.  20"  21^2  (E),  Ex.  22*,  and  also,  in  the  pi.,  i  S.  22^. — These 
men]  scarcely  with  Rashi  to  be  treated  as  a  periphrasis  for 
"us";  but  it  refers  to  the  Israelites  who  followed  Dathan 
and  Abiram,  mentioned  in  part  of  the  story  not  reproduced 
here,  or  referred  to  in  the  clause  *'  men  of  the  children  of 
Israel  "  in  v.^. — 15.  Turn  not  to]  pay  no  heed  to.  Cp.  the 
parallel  in  Ps.  102IS  (i7)  i^^^  ,-|:D  =  nn  X^) :  see  also  Dt.  (f,  Lev. 
26^,  Ezek.  36^.  The  phrase  is  not  the  same  that  is  used  in 
Gn.  4^'-. — Their  offering]  the  term  (nnjo)  could  not  have  been 
used  by  P  in  reference  to  the  incense  of  v.'^ ;  his  general  term 
for  offering  is  different  (pip),  and  he  uses  the  present  term 
only   in    the    specific   sense    of  meal-offering:   cp.    Driver    in 


202  NUMBERS 

Hastings'  DB,,  s.v.  "OxTeringf,"  HI.  5S7  ;  also  CH.  iiS^ 
On  this  ground  alone,  then,  the  clause  must  be  referred  to 
JE.  But  no  further  reference  to  an  offering  is  made  in  what 
remains  of  JE's  narrative.  Unless  there  is  here  an  allusion 
to  some  part  of  the  narrative  of  JE  not  retained  in  the 
compilation  (see  above,  p.  190),  the  whole  clause,  "pay  no 
heed  to  their  offering,"  is  simply  a  prayer  that  Yahweh  may 
withhold  His  favour,  and,  therefore,  in  effect  a  curse  such 
as  "while  all  Israelites  were  allowed  to  sacrifice,  might  be 
naturally  invoked  against  any  enemy"  (Addis,  EBi.  1018). — 
151).  Cp.  I  S.  12^  The  connection  between  v.^^''  and  v.^^^  is 
not  very  close,  and  the  two  clauses  may  be  from  different 
sources. 

12.  *?  Nip"?  .  .  .  nSc'i]  22';  vnp  with  h,  Vx,  or  ace,  51  times  in  JE,  9  in 
P  (ahva)'s,  except  Ex.  7",  with  ^k)  :  so  CH.  139^"^. — 13.  Throughout  this 
V.  S  has  2nd  pi. — '3  .  .  .  '3  .  .  .  t2V':n]  unlike  v.^'-  above  (where  see  note). 
The  B^o  in  the  present  case  fas,  e.g. ,  in  Gn.  30'')  g-ains  comparative  force 
simply  from  the  context  :  Kon.  iii.  3o8fl. — Tinari]  The  Hithp.  of  this  vb. 
only  here.  On  the  force  of  the  Hithp.  ("to  play  the  prince"),  see  G.-K. 
54?, — 14.  jnni]  The  force  of  the  negative  in  the  previous  clause  continues  ; 
cp.  23'^;  Dav.  128,  R.  6;  G.-K.  152^^.-13.  nxa  .  .  .  *?  nn'i]  cp.  Gn.  4* 
34^  (J),  I  S.  188,  2  S.  38  132',  Neh.  4'  5«;  see,  further,  CH.  233JB.— TOn] 
Cr  ^7ri5(;/ii?,ua  =  nisn;  see  Geiger,  Urschrift,  439  ff. — cno  inx  ns]  the  ace.  nn.>< 
being  defined  by  did  is  rightly  preceded  by  nx  ;  Kon.  iii.  288^ 

16  f.  (P').  These  verses  are  a  sequel  to  v.^"^\  but  a  parallel 
to  v.^'-.  Korah  and  his  company  of  Levltes  are  to  assemble 
at  the  tabernacle  with  Aaron,  each  man  bringing  his  censer. 

17.  vwriD  (i)]  S  +  B-K  jna  uni ;  see  v.'-  ^^  pj.— a.TVj']  Dav.  i,  R.  3  ;  S  p'Sp. 

lS-24  (P^).  The  scene  before  the  tabernacle. — The  sequel 
to  \.^\ 

18.  Accepting  the  test  proposed  by  Moses  (v.^'),  Koralj 
and  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  princes  prepare  their  censers 
and  take  up  their  position  at  the  door  of  the  tent  of  meeting 
together  with  Moses  and  Aaron.  Some  intervening  narrative 
explaining  that  Korah  accepted  the  test  proposed  by  Moses, 
and  that  he  and  his  companions  went  away  to  prepare  for  it, 
may  well  have  been  included  In  P^'s  original  story ;  but  if  so  it 
has  been   rejected  by  the  editor  (P^)  to  make  room  for  his 


XVI.   i6-22  203 

own  words  (v.^"^^-  ^^^■). — 19.  Korah  assembles  all  Israel,  whose 
rights  he  was  championing  (v.^),  to  watch  the  trial.  The^/o/;j' 
of  Yahweh  appears  ominously  as  in  14^^  (see  note  there). — 
20-22.  Yahweh  bids  Moses  and  Aaron  separate  themselves 
from  the  rest  of  the  people,  and  so  save  themselves  from  the 
destruction  He  intends  to  send  on  them.  Moses  and  Aaron 
beg  that  the  whole  people  may  not  perish  for  one  man's  sin. — 
21.  The  people  as  a  whole  must  be  supposed  to  have  favoured 
Korah  (cp.  v.^^) ;  hence  the  divine  intention  to  destroy  them. — 
That  I  may  consume  them  immediately^  17^''  (16*^).  Similar 
motives  are  expressed  somewhat  differently  in  Ex.  32^^-  33^ 
(JE). — 22.  And  they  fell  tipon  their  faces\  v.*  n. — And  said, 
O  God,  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh\  On  the  usage  of  ':n 
("God"),  see  12^^  phil.  n. ;  in  27^^  Yahweh  is  used  instead; 
for  ^X,  before  a  defining  appositional  phrase,  cp.  Gn.  33^°  (JE). 
The  phrase  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  which  recurs  only  in 
27^^  and  is  therefore  peculiar  to  P,  betrays  the  advanced 
theological  standpoint  of  P.  Yahweh  is  to  him  far  more  than 
the  God  of  Israel ;  He  is  the  one  and  only  author  of  all  human 
life,  and,  as  its  author,  capable  of  destroying  it  (cp.  Gn.  6^-*^-  P  ; 
but  so  also  Gn.  G  f-^-  J') :  cp.  Job  34i«-,  also  Ps.  10429^-.  The 
term  "all  flesh"  {yi,*1  bs),  characteristic  of  the  later  literature^ 
occurs  18  times  in  P ;  see  Expos.,  Sept.  1893  (On  Joel),  p.  215. 
— Shoidd  one  man  sin  and  Thou  in  consequence  be  indignant 
against,  and,  therefore,  destroy  not  him  only,  but  the  "whole  cori-. 
gregation  (Lev.  10^,  Jos.  22^^ — P),  i.e.  the  people  of  Israel ;  cp 
i8^  The  one  man  must  be  the  single  ringleader,  viz.  Korah  ;| 
the  question,  inconsistent  with  the  point  of  view  in  v.^*-  which' 
gives  several  leaders,  is  a  valuable  clue  to  the  original  form 
of  P's  narrative.  Is  one  man  to  sin  in  leading  others  astray, 
and  are  all  to  perish  though  their  only  sin  consists  in  having 
been  led  astray?  Again  the  theological  standpoint  is  ad- 
vanced ;  it  is  far  removed  from  the  dominance  of  the  early 
doctrine  of  solidarity,  and  is  most  easily  explained  if  referred 
to  a  period  influenced  by  Ezekiel's  strong  individualism  (see, 
e.g.,  Ezek.  18.  33).  The  writer  is  indeed  in  some  respects 
beyond  Ezekiel's  standpoint ;  he  shows  an  awakening  to  the 
diflference  between  the  leaders  and  the  led  in  wrong-doing, 


204  NUMBERS 

and  inclines  to  judge  the  latter  very  lightly.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  present  writer  is  less  dogmatic  than  Ezekiel :  he 
raises  a  question ;  he  does  not  make  an  assertion.  For  the 
divine  indignation  which  is  apt  to  break  loose  in  destructive 
activity,  cp.  Lev.  lo^  Nu.  i^s  ig^,  Dt.  9^».— 23f.  Yahweh, 
acceding  to  the  intercession  of  Moses  and  Aaron  (v.^^),  directs 
the  people  through  Moses  to  retire  from  the  tabernacle  in 
order  to  avoid  being  involved  in  the  destruction  (v.^)  of  those 
who  present  the  incense.  The  people  obey,  v.^^*. — The  tabe?- 
nacle  (pJ^'D)  of  Korah,  Dathan,  a7id  Abira?7i\  the  phrase  in  the 
present  text,  both  here  and  in  v.^^,  is  due  to  an  editor.  For, 
note  (i)  the  word  pK'D  is  constantly  used  in  the  Hexateuch  of 
the  dwelling  of  Yahweh,  but  never,  in  the  sing.,  of  the 
dwelling-place  of  men.  The  pi.  is  used  in  a  poetical  passage 
(24^)  of  human  habitations.  (2)  The  sing,  noun  (ct.  \.^^) 
followed  by  the  three  names  is  strange :  Korah,  Dathan,  and 
Abiram  did  not  share  one  dwelling  between  them.  The 
difficulty  is  not  satisfactorily  surmounted  by  arguing  that  pC'O 
here  means  **  district,"  and  is  therefore  suitably  followed  by  the 
names  of  the  three  men,  since  all — the  Kohathite  Korah,  and 
the  Reubenites  Dathan  and  Abiram — had  their  position  on  the 
S.  of  the  tabernacle  {2^^  3^^).  (3)  The  phrase  is  pointless 
in  the  context.  For,  since  the  people  are  assembled  before 
the  tabernacle  (v.^^),  the  command  in  its  present  form  directs 
the  people  to  depart  from  a  place  in  which  they  are  not. 
There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  command  in  P^ 
ran.  Depart  from  about  the  tabernacle  of  Yahweh  (cp.  17^^^^^^). 
When  the  story  of  Korah  was  united  by  the  editor  with  that 
of  Dathan  and  Abiram,  the  fact  that  Korah  and  his  comrades 
were  destroyed  in  the  immediate  proximity  of  the  tabernacle 
was  obscured  (though  it  is  still  clear  enough  from  v.^^) ;  the 
editor  wished  to  suggest  that  all  alike  were  destroyed  in  their 
tents,  ffir^,  taking  exception  perhaps  to  the  sing.  pEJ'D  with 
the  three  names,  omits  *•  Dathan  and  Abiram"  both  here  and 
m  V.-'. 

18.  c.t'pj;]  The  pi.  suffix  refers  to  the  plural  implicit  in  the  distributive 
phrase  mnno  v^k  :  Kon.  iii.  346/. — ncci]  (&  S>  omit  the  1 — perhaps  rig-htly, 
for  we  should  then  have  this  natural  sequence  :  Korah  and  the  princes 


XVI.  23-27  205 

prepare  for  the  trial  (v.'^)  ;  Moses  and  Aaron  take  up  their  stand  at  the 
tent  (v.^^'') ;  Korah  assembles  the  people  there  (v.^"). — 22.  "inx  c'i<n]  There 
are  several  possible  explanations  of  the  cstr.  The  simplest,  and  by  far 
the  most  probable,  is  that  the  n  is  interrogative  and  should  be  pointed 
t5"Nri  (G.-K.  loom)  ;  then  for  the  subordination  of  the  two  sentences  to  the 
interrogf.,  see  G.-K.  150W.  Or  it  might  be  a  case  of  the  omission  of  the 
art.  with  the  numeral  (cp.  28^) :  so  Kon.  iii.  3345  ;  then  the  sentence  is 
interrogative  without  an  interrogative  particle,  as  in  v.^".  Or  the  nnx 
may  be  an  ace.  of  the  state  (Dav.  70) — "  The  man  being  one  and  only 
one  "  ;  cp.  Is.  51". 

25-34.  The  scane  before  the  tents  of  Dathan  and  Abiram 
(JE). 

These  verses,  with  the  exception  of  v.^^*-  ^'^^  (P^  and  P') 
and  v.32b  (?'),  form  the  sequel  to  v.^^-is. 

25.  Dathan  and  Abiram  havings  refused  to  come  to  Moses 
(v.^2^,  Moses,  accompanied  by  ^/le  elders  of  Israel  [cp.  ii^*'  E, 
and  n.  on  11^^),  g"oes  to  them. — 26.  Moses  bids  the  people 
remove  from  the  neighbourhood  ot  the  tents  of  Dathan  and 
Abiram.  The  introductory  clause  and  the  speech  itself  are 
from  different  sources.  The  word  congregation  (i-  n.)  pre- 
vents the  former  being"  referred  to  J  (E),  to  which  several  words 
in  the  speech  conclusively  point.  And  he  spake  unto  the  con- 
gregation saying'xs  best  with  CH.  referred  to  P^,  though  it  may 
be,  as  Di.  reg^ards  it,  the  work  of  the  editor.  In  the  former 
case  Moses'  announcement  of  the  divine  warning-  (v.^^)  has 
been  suppressed  in  favour  of  JE's  speech. — Depart  now  from\ 
(pyo  X3  1~i1D)  ;  P  in  v.^^-  ^^  expresses  the  same  idea  differently 
(b  3''nD0  te,  y^yya  .  .  .  ^yo  1^j;'"l).  With  the  present  vb., 
cp.  12^°  (E) ;  the  enclitic  K3  is  highly  characteristic  of  JE  ;  v.^ 
phil.  n. — These  wicked  men]  Dathan  and  Abiram.  W)  occurs 
8  times  in  JE,  once  only  in  P  (35^^) ;  CH.  231. — Anything  that 
is  theirs]  the  same  phrase  [nrb  "^^^  !^3),  though  of  necessity 
differently  rendered  in  English,  occurs  in  v.^*^-  ^^.  The  idiom 
is  used  26  times  in  JE,  twice  only  in  P;  CH.  124^^. — Lest  ye 
be  swept  away  in  all  their  sins]  For  the  sentiment  and  the  vb. 
(nsD),  cp.  Gn.  i823f-,  also  Gn.  ig^^-iv  (all  J)._27a  (P^).  Sequel 
to  v.2*^26a)^ — 27b  (JE).  Moses  and  Aaron  having  arrived  at  the 
tents  of  Dathan  and  Abiram,  the  latter  with  their  wives  and 
children  come  out  and  stand  at  their  tent  doors.  The 
Hebrew  may  also  mean  that  they  had  come  out  before  Moses 


206  NUMBERS 

had  arrived.  V.^'^''  might  well  follow  v.^^  immediately,  and 
very  probably  did  so  in  E,  since  the  intervening  passage  of 
JE  (v.26^)  appears  to  come  from  J.  In  the  last  clause  of  the  v. 
the  editor  of  JE  perhaps  falls  back  on  J,  with  whom  e]D  = 
little  ones  is  characteristic  (CH.  52). 

28-31  (J).  Moses,  addressing  the  assembled  people,  pro- 
poses a  test  of  his  own  divine  appointment  and  the  blasphemy 
of  the  rebels.  If  the  rebels  die  a  natural  death,  Moses  is  an 
impostor ;  but  if  they  are  swallowed  up  alive  in  the  earth, 
Yahweh  has  sent  him,  and  the  rebels  in  calling  in  question 
his  divine  appointment  have  contemned  Yahweh. 

The  phraseology  here  appears  to  be  predominantly  that  of 
J  ;  and  Bacon  points  out  that  it  is  characteristic  of  that  source 
solemnly  to  propose  tests  of  this  kind;   so  Ex.   7'^^-;    cp., 
somewhat  similarly,  Gn.  24^*  4 2^^ — Hereby  ye  shall  know]  cp. 
Gn.    42^3,    Ex.    f,    also   Gn.    24I*  (all  J).      The   people  are 
addressed :  Dathan  and   Abiram  are  referred  to  in  the   3rd 
person,  v.^^^-. —  Yahweh  hath  sent  me]  cp.  Ex.  3^°"^^  (E)  4^8, 
Jos.  245  (E),  Ex.  522  7I6  {]).—-That  1  have  7wt  done  them  o/7ny 
own  mind]  the  same  contrast  between  what  is  done  of  personal 
will  and  desire,  and  what  is  done  under  divine  constraint  is 
drawn  in  24^^  (J).     Similar  is  the  contrast  between  the  true 
prophet  called  and  sent  of  Yahweh  and  the  false  prophet  in  Jer. 
22I6.  2i_ — 29.  If  these  men  die  as  all  mankind  die]  i.e.  a  natural 
death,  ajtd  be  visited  with  the  visitation  of  all  mankind,  i.e. 
suffer  no  extraordinary  and  significant  fate,  such  as  descending 
alive  into  Sheol  or  dying  "in  the  midst  of  their  days,"  which 
was  the  special  fate  of  sinners;  cp.  e.g.  Ps.  5524.16(23.15)  (^he 
latter  v.  alludes  to  this  narrative). — It  is  not  Yahweh  that  hath 
sent  me]  The  position  of  the  negative  before  Yahweh  rather 
than  before  the  vb.  emphasises  the  former;  cp.  Gn.  32^9  38°. — 
30.  But  if  Yahweh  creates  a  creation]  causes  something  new 
and  marvellous  to  come  to  pass  ;  cp.  Ex.  34^"  (JE),  Jer.  3122. — 
And  the  groimd  open  its  mouth]  exactly  as  Gn.  4^^  (J) ;  both 
noun  and  vb.  are  different  in  v.^2  where  pN  (also  v.^^^-  ^*)  and 
nna  occur  instead  of  HDIX  (also  v.^^)  and  nV3  (also  Dt.  11^). — 
And  they  go  down  .  .  .  to  Sheol]  Sheol,  the  place  of  departed 
spirits,  was  conceived  of  as  below  or  within  the  earth ;  people 


XVI.  28-35  207 

go  down  to  it  (cp.  e.^.  Gn.  37^^),  and  the  spirits  at  times  come 
«/^  from  it  (i  S.  28^^*-).  See  the  Lexicons  (s.v.  ^INEJ'). — T/iey 
]iav3  despised  Va/iwe/i]  )*i^J  as  in  14^1-23  (JE). — 31,  32.  As  soon 
as  Moses  had  finished  speakings,  the  ground  under  Dathan  and 
Abiram  is  cleft  asunder,  and  they  and  their  households  are 
swallowed  up. — V.^'-  ^^  records,  with  a  repetition  of  the  same 
phraseology  (note  especially  v. 2^*),  the  fulfilment  of  Moses' 
prediction  in  v.^".  V.^^*  contains  a  statement  of  the  same  or 
a  similar  event,  but  in  different  phraseology.  Probably  v.^"** 
(cp.  Dt.  11^)  is  derived  from  E,  and  with  it  goes  the  clause 
a?id  the  earth  covered  them  up  (v.^). — 32.  Theit  households] 
the  wives  and  children  (v.^'')  and  other  persons  belonging  to 
Dathan  and  Abiram.  The  same  word  (crrria)  is  used  in  the 
reference  to  this  story  in  Dt.  1 1^,  also  with  the  same  significa- 
tion in  Gn.  42^^-  ^^45^^  (all  E).  It  appears  to  be  E's  equivalent 
for  J's  phrase  all  that  was  theirs  (cp.  v.^^  n.)  in  v.^ — 32b. 
And  all  the  men  who  belonged  to  Korah  and  all  their  goods]  an 
unskilful  attempt  of  the  editor  to  unite  in  death  the  two  sets 
of  rebels  who,  even  in  his  form  of  the  story,  had  in  life  been 
constantly  divided.  The  effect  of  the  insertion  is  that  after 
all  the  men  that  belonged  to  Korah  have  been  swallowed  up 
by  the  earthquake  about  the  tents  of  Dathan  and  Abiram, 
they  are  done  to  death  again  by  fire  at  the  tabernacle  (v.^^). 
The  hand  of  the  editor  is  also  apparent  in  the  phraseology ; 
the  last  word  of  the  v.  {^),T\)  is  characteristic  of  P  and  the 
editor;  CH.  I55^— 33.  Cp.  v.  sob.— 33b.  And  they  perished  from 
the  midst  oj  the  assembly]  either  another  editorial  addition,  or, 
perhaps,  E  (cp.  22*). — 34.  Alarmed  by  the  sound  of  the  cries 
of  the  perishing  people,  the  Israelites  who  had  been  present 
(cp.  v. 2^)  flee  away  to  avoid  a  like  fate.  This  v.  scarcely  seems 
to  presuppose  v.^^. 

35  (P^).  The  destruction  of  the  two  hundred  and  fifty 
princes. — The  sequel  to  v.^^a. 

As  at  the  destruction  of  Nadab  and  Abihu  (Lev.  10*),  so 
now  fire  comes  out  from  Yahweh,  i.e.  from  the  tabernacle;  it 
consumes  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  (v.^)  who  offered  the 
incense  (v.^^^).  The  name  of  the  leader,  Korah,  has  been 
suppressed  on  grounds  which  will  be  found  stated  on  26^^. 


208  NUMBERS 

27.  D'asj]  a  secondary  predicate  determining  the  subfect ;  Driver, 
Tenses,  i6i  (2). — nns]  ace.  of  place:  Dav.  69. — Dsm  .  .  .  Dn'B":!]  is  gram- 
matically somewhat  loosely  connected  with  the  subj.  xr\-i\x\  .  .  .  jm  (which 
is  prefixed  to  the  vb.  either  because  it  is  the  new  and  contrasted  subject 
as  compared  with  v.^,  or  in  order  to  give  ixs'  a  plupf.  sense) ;  for  this 
loose  connection  see  Kon.  iii.  3756.  It  might  easily  result  from  fusion  of 
sources  :  Bacon  assigns  this  last  clause  to  J.  Or,  since  D.Tjn  between 
csai  .  .  .  CTB":  is  unusual  and  really  superfluous,  we  may  in  the  phrase 
itself  have  fusion  of  sources;  so  CH. — 30.  nxna]  here  only. — Dnx]  ffi  +  zcat 
ro!)s  oIkov%  aiiTuiv  xal  t4$  aKjjvas  avruv,  probably  under  the  influence  of 
Dt.  ii«. 

XVII.  1-5  (16^^-^)  (P*).  The  censers  converted  into  a 
memorial.  —  At  the  command  of  Yahweh,  communicated 
through  Moses,  Ele'azar  collects  the  censers  which  had  been 
rendered  holy  [i.e.  unfit  for  future  profane  use)  by  having 
been  presented  to  Yahweh,  and  converts  them  into  a  covering 
for  the  altar,  which  is  to  serve  as  a  reminder  that  no  one,  who 
was  not  descended  from  Aaron,  might  draw  near  to  offer  in- 
cense to  Yahweh. 

This  last  insertion  of  P^  is  a  kind  of  Midrash,  to  explain 
the  bronze  covering  or  overlaying  of  the  altar.  According  to 
Ex.  27^  (P^),  the  altar  was  overlaid  with  bronze  at  the  time  that 
it  was  made.  (5  attempts  (at  the  expense  of  an  anachronism) 
to  harmonise  the  two  versions  of  the  origin  of  this  bronze 
covering  by  explaining,  in  the  account  of  the  completion  of 
the  tabernacle  and  its  belongings,  that  "he  [Besal'el]  made 
the  bronze  altar  out  of  the  bronze  censers  which  belonged 
to  the  men  who  revolted  with  the  congregation  of  Korah" 
(Ex.  38-2  Ct  =  38-  1^).  The  present  divergence  from  the  re- 
presentation of  P^  is  merely  another  indication  of  the  second- 
ary character  of  the  section,  which  also  appears  very  clearly 
in  v.^.  Ele'azar,  too,  though  known  to  P^,  is  prominent  in 
P'  (see,  e.g.  c.  19,  31,  Jos.  22:  also  Ex.  G^^-^^,  Lev.  lo^-^^). 

2  (37).  Ele'azar  is  selected  for  the  task  of  collecting  the 
censers  rather  than  Aaron ;  for  the  latter  as  high  priest  had 
to  avoid  contact  with  the  dead  even  more  scrupulously  than 
the  ordinary  priests.  Lev.  2i^°~^^-^~*. — From  the  midst  of  that 
'which  is  bufyit]  here  as  in  ig^*^^!^  nsntJ'  appears  to  have  the 
concrete  sense  that  which  is  burnt  \  either  the  word  is  so 
taken  here  by  fflc  S  U  21^°  or  these  versions  read  D"'D'iL*M  (cp.  v.*) 


XVII.  i-s  209 

■=  those  who  are  burnt.  If,  with  RV.,  the  usual  sigriification 
of  HDi:^  burning  (Lev.  10^,  Am.  4^^,  cp.  Zech.  3^)  be  adopted, 
the  meaning'  would  be  that  the  censers  are  to  be  collected 
from  among  the  still  burning  corpses  of  those  burnt  by  the 
fire  of  Yahweh.  —  Scatter  the  fire  yonder\  the  fire  is  the 
burning  coals  which  had  been  placed  in  the  censers  [i^i^-  ^^) ; 
these  are  to  be  scattered  lest,  though  holy,  they  should  still 
be  profanely  used. — For  the  censers  .  .  .  have  become  holj] 
so,  rightly,  &  F;  see  phil.  n.  The  censers  had  contracted 
holiness  in  virtue  of  having  been  presented  before  Yahweh, 
and  all  that  they  contained,  including  the  fire,  would  have 
been  rendered  holy  at  the  same  time  (v.^) ;  holiness  in  such 
cases  is,  like  uncleanness  (cp.  e.g.  Lev.  15),  the  result  of 
physical  contact  with  or  propinquity  to  holy  things :  see 
small  print  n.  at  the  end  of  this  section. — 3  (38).  These 
sinners  at  the  cost  of  their  lives\  If  the  text  of  P?  be  retained, 
the  clause  must  be  rendered  thus,  not  as  in  RV.  (text) 
"these  sinners  against  their  own  lives";  for  (i)  **to  sin 
against "  is  b  XDH  and  not  1  NDPI ;  (2)  the  men  in  question 
could  not  be  said  to  have  sinned  against  themselves :  they 
had  sinned  ag"ainst  God.  For  the  3  of  price  with  CD3,  cp. 
I  K.  2-3,  2  S.  23^''.  With  the  reading-  adopted  in  the  last 
note,  at  the  cost  of  their  lives  is  connected,  as  in  the  passages 
just  used,  with  the  vb.,  and  the  whole  passage  becomes  more 
pointed,  Tlie  censers  of  these  men  became  holy  at  the  cost  of 
their  lives.  The  censers  became  holy  because  they  presented 
them  before  Yahweh,  but  at  the  cost  of  their  lives  to  those 
who,  not  being  priests,  had  no  right  to  present  them,  and 
did  not  possess  the  degree  of  holiness  requisite  to  render 
such  propinquity  to  the  Deity  safe. — 5  (40).  A  memorial]  an 
object  serving  to  bring  something  to  remembrance ;  cp, 
Jos.  ^  (of  the  stones  in  Jordan). — That  no  stranger]  3^°  n. — 
As  Yahweh  spoke  to  him  (Ele'azar)  through  Moses]  the  clause 
refers  to  the  action  of  Ele'azar. 

Holiness. — A  complete  understanding-  of  the  standpoint  and  arg-ument 
of  the  preceding'  section  depends   on  an   appreciation  of  certain   ideas  % 
relative  to  holiness.     Whatever  the  etymological  sense  of  the  root  u'lp, 
and  however  deep  and  spiritual  the  meaning  imparted  to  its  derivatives 
by  the  prophets,  in  many  connections  it  retained  throughout  the  period 

14 


2  10  NUMBERS 

of  OT.  literature,  and  even  later,  a  signification  that  can  best  be  repre- 
sented by  the  term  "  taboo."  In  these  cases  it  was  not  a  term  of  moral 
import.  Holiness  and  uncleanness  (the  two  ideas  are  in  origin  closely 
connected)  are  contagious  qualities,  and,  under  certain  circumstances  and 
to  certain  people,  dangerous,  and  even  fatal,  (i)  Holiness  is  contagious: 
thus  the  altar  is  "  most  holy,"  and  whatever  touches  it  becomes  holy  (Ex. 
2<f  30^).  So,  again,  the  flesh  of  the  sin-offering  is  "most  holy,"  and 
whatever  touches  it  becomes  holy ;  the  vessel  in  which  it  is  boiled,  becomes 
holy,  and,  if  of  bronze,  must  have  the  holiness  scoured  out  of  it,  or,  if  of 
earthenware,  must  be  destroyed,  since,  so  we  must  suppose  it  was  felt, 
the  holiness,  having  percolated  into  its  pores,  has  rendered  it  incurably 
lioly  (Lev.  G'"'*  (^^*)).  Ezekiel  provides  special  boiling-houses  for  the  sacri- 
ficial flesh,  lest  being  brought  into  the  outer  court  it  should  infect  the 
people  with  its  holiness  (Ezek.  46-").  Aaron  washes  himself  after  putting 
off  his  holy  garments  before  donning  his  ordinary  garments  again,  the 
object,  in  the  light  of  the  foregoing,  clearly  being  to  wash  off  the 
holiness  acquired  from  the  holy  garments,  lest  it  should  infect  the  ordinary 
garments  and  render  them  useless  for  ordinary  purposes  (Lev.  i6-^*")' 
When  the  Scriptures  came  to  be  regarded  as  holy,  touching  them 
"defiled"  the  hands,  i.e.  required  a  hand-washing  to  remove  the  acquired 
holiness  before  the  hands  were  used  for  profane  purposes  ( Yadaim  3^-  ^ :  cp. 
Buddein^^z.,  "  Canon,"  §§  3f.).  (2)  Holiness  is  dangerous  if  acquired  sud- 
denly, without  due  precaution,  or  by  unfit  persons  :  in  Ex.  ig^ib-is.  20-24  ^j^g 
unconsecrated  people  are  warned  against  suddenly  touching  the  sacred 
mount,  i.e.  against  suddenly  acquiring  holiness,  and  perishing  in  con- 
sequence. The  priests  on  the  same  occasion  are  warned  that  they  may 
only  approach  Yahweh  with  safety,  if  they  have  been  previously  made 
holy  in  proper  form  :  cp.  Nu.  i^-*^.  So  in  the  present  incident  the  "seed 
of  Aaron,"  being  duly  possessed  of  holiness,  offer  the  incense  with  safety  ; 
the  Levitical  followers  of  Korah,  not  being  thus  equipped,  become  holy  by 
the  process  of  offering,  but  die  in  consequence.  (3)  What  is  holy  must  be 
kept  from  profane  use :  e.g.  the  firstborn  of  cattle  is  holy,  and,  therefore, 
nmy  not  be  used  for  ordinary  purposes  (see  below,  p.  229 f.);  holy  food, 
such  as  tithe,  may  not  be  used  for  the  ordinary  domestic  meal  (Dt.  26^') ; 
a  vessel  rendered  holy  must  be  destroyed,  or  purged  of  its  holiness  before 
being  again  used  for  ordinary  purposes  (Lev.  6^  (''*').  So  here  the  censers 
or  firepans  were  not  originally  holy  (see  n.  on  v.®),  but  were  rendered  so 
by  the  rite  of  offering ;  they  must,  therefore,  in  future  be  kept  from  pro- 
fane use.  The  end  in  the  present  case  is  obtained  by  permanently  keep- 
ing them,  in  the  form  of  a  covering  for  the  altar,  within  the  sacred 
precincts.  The  fire  in  the  censers  being  also  holy,  is  cast  away  and 
thus  removed  from  ordinary  use.  See,  further,  on  the  present  subject, 
W.  R.  Smith,  Religion  of  the  Semites,  App.  C  ;  also  for  parallels,  from 
many  fields,  to  the  contagion  of  holiness  or  uncleanness  and  the  necessity 
for  removing  things  and  persons  affected  by  it  from  ordinary  use,  Frazer, 
Golden  Bought  i.  318-343.  From  the  last  a  few  instances  may  be  cited  : 
♦*'  The  Mikado's  food  was  cooked  every  day  in  new  pots  and  served  up 
in  new  dishes ;  both  pots  and  dishes  were  of  common  clay,  in  order  that 
they  mig^bt  be  broken  and  laid  aside  after  they  had  been  once  used.     They 


XVII.  6  211 

were  g'enerally  broken,  for  it  was  believed  that  if  anyone  else  ate  his  food 
out  of  these  sacred  dishes,  his  mouth  and  throat  would  become  swollen 
and  inflamed.  The  same  ill  effect  was  thought  to  be  experienced  by 
anyone  who  should  wear  the  Mikado's  clothes  without  his  leave  "  (p.  318). 
"In  Tonga  ...  it  was  believed  that  if  anyone  fed  himself  with  his  own 
hands  after  touching  the  sacred  person  of  a  superior  chief,  or  anything 
that  belonged  to  him,  he  would  swell  up  and  die ;  the  sanctity  of  the 
chief,  like  a  virulent  poison,  infected  the  hands  of  his  inferior,  and,  being 
communicated  through  them  to  the  food,  proved  fatal  to  the  eater  .  .  . 
until  the  ceremony  of  expiation  or  disinfection  had  been  performed,  if  he 
wished  to  eat,  he  had  either  to  get  some  one  to  feed  him,  or  else  to  go  down 
on  his  knees  and  pick  up  the  food  from  the  ground  with  his  mouth  like  a 
beast"  (p.  319 f.).  "  In  New  Zealand  the  dread  of  the  sanctity  of  chiefs 
was  at  least  as  great  as  in  Tonga.  Their  ghostly  power,  derived  from 
an  ancestral  spirit  or  atua,  diffused  itself  by  contagion  over  everything 
they  touched,  and  could  strike  dead  all  who  rashly  or  unwittingly  meddled 
with  it"  (p.  321).  "The  garments  of  a  high  New  Zealand  chief  will  kill 
anyone  else  who  wears  them  "  (p.  322).  "  In  general,  we  may  say  that 
the  prohibition  to  use  the  vessels,  garments,  and  so  on  of  certain 
persons,  and  the  effects  supposed  to  follow  an  infraction  of  the  rule,  are 
exactly  the  same  whether  the  person  to  whom  the  things  belong  are 
sacred  or  what  we  might  call  unclean  and  polluted  "  (p.  325).  On  some 
parallel  customs  in  case  of  uncleanness,  see  on  c,  ig. 

1,  nrn]  In  <&  Moses  is  not  bidden  to  pass  on  the  command  to  Ele'azar  ; 
he  and  Ele'azar  are  both  commanded  to  take  up  the  censers. — 2.  DTi]  For 
the  cstr,,  cp.  5^n. — ni?  cxri  nxi]  ^  koI  t6  trvp  rb  dWorpiov  tovto  airecpop ; 
cp.  Lev.  10'  pj  and  ffi. — 3.  nnx  .  .  .  n.v]  Driver,  Tenses,  197  (6).  But  it 
is  far  more  probable  (see  notes  above)  that  the  na  here  is  intrusive,  and 
that  nnnn  (v.^)  is  the  subj.  of  icnp  (v. 2) ;  so  S  (cp.  F).  G^^  (ijyiajav) 
apparently  retain  nx  and  read  in'-np ;  but  MSS.  29,  54,  75  of  ffi  read  vfyiaa- 
drjcrav  in  agreement  with  &. — wip'i  .  .  .  Dinpa]  the  masc.  suffix  (similarly 
DHK  above)  refers  to  the  fem.  nnna ;  similarly  the  3rd  masc.  pi.  in  wip' ; 
Dav.  I,  R.  3  ;  113.  ffir  ■irpoar)vix0'>l'^°-''  (^'•^'  ''^"'P'7)  •  •  •  1^°-^  ijyLdadrjaav. — "api 
this  word  occurs  only  here  (but  cp.  Ex.  sg-*),  D'ns  (not  the  same  as  n£3 
a  bird  trap')  onlj'^  here  and  Ex.  39^  (P^),  and  'iSi'  only  here  and  Ex.  38^^-  ^^ 
(Ps),  and  Is.  302-.— 4.  ni;;'?^]  fflc  S  +  pnx  p  (cp.  v.').— mypTi]  VjST  elsewhere  in 
Hex.  only  in  Ex.  39*. 

6-15  (16*^"^°)  (P^).  The  people  plagued  for  murmuring  at  the 
fate  of  Korah. — The  sequel  to  16^.  On  the  day  following^  the 
destruction  of  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  princes,  the  whole 
body  of  the  Israelites  complain  that  by  the  death  of  Korah, 
their  representative,  they  have  themselves  been  attacked 
(v.*^).  The  cloud  and  glory  of  Yahweh  appear  ominously 
(v.'^).  Moses  and  Aaron,  drawing-  near  at  this  sign  to  the 
tent,    are    warned    to    stand    away    from   the   people,    that 


2  12  NUMBERS 

Yahweh  may  destroy  the  latter  (v.^°).  They  intercede  with 
Yahweh,  and  then  Aaron,  under  Moses'  direction,  places 
fire  from  the  altar  on  his  censer,  and  with  it  passes  among 
the  people,  thus  staying"  the  destructive  activity  of  Yahweh's 
anger,  though  not  until  after  it  had  caused  the  death  of 
14,700  of  the  people  (v.^^~^^).  It  is  noticeable  that  Aaron 
here  (P^)  risks  that  contact  with  the  dead,  to  avoid  which 
Ele'azar  was  substituted  for  him  in  the  previous  section 
(F). 

6  (41).  Ye  have  slain]  The  pronoun  is  emphatic.  Moses 
and  Aaron  are  thus  charged  with  having  invoked  the  destruc- 
tive intervention  of  God;  cp.  i6^-. — The  people  of  Va/iwe/i] 
cp.  ii29  (E),  Jud.  5",  I  S.  22*,  2  S.  1^2  621,  2  K.  96,  Ezek.  3620, 
and  also  Zeph.  2^'^.  The  expression  is  of  ancient  origin ;  cp. 
the  parallel  "people  of  Kemosh,"  2i29,  Jer.  48*^.  In  causing 
the  death  of  their  representatives,  "the  princes  of  the  con- 
gregation" (i62),  Moses  and  Aaron  might  be  said  to  have 
slain  the  people. — 7  (42)  a.  Cp.  16^*. — T/iejf  turned  towards  the 
tent  of  meeting]  cp.  Ex.  i6i°  (P^),  where  read  "tabernacle" 
(p'J'on)  or  "tent  of  meeting"  (as  here)  for  "wilderness" 
(inon). — And,  behold,  the  cloud  covered  it,  and  the  glory  of 
Yahweh  appeared]  another  way  of  expressing  what  is  said  in 
Ex.  161"  "the  glory  of  Yahweh  appeared  in  the  cloud."  It  is 
the  glory  of  Yahweh  which  is  the  really  significant  and  ominous 
sign ;  cp.  16^^  n.  The  cloud  was  a  permanent  phaenomenon 
(gi*^,  Ex.  40^^) ;  the  appearance  of  the  glory  was  inter- 
mittent. Whether,  with  Di.  and  others,  we  ought  to  draw 
a  further  distinction  between  an  intermittent  "covering"  or 
complete  envelopment  of  the  tent  by  the  cloud  (91^,  Ex. 
^Q34f.j  and  a  constant  hovering  of  the  cloud  above  it  (gi^^- 
1012,  Ex.  40^^),  is  uncertain.  Note  that  the  term  "to  cover" 
IS  used  in  gi^  of  the  regularly  recurring  appearance  by  day 
when  the  tabernacle  was  at  rest. — 9  (44).  And  Yahweh  spoke 
tmto  Moses]  Cr  +  Aaron.  Moses  and  Aaron  in  any  case  con- 
stitute the  subject  of  the  following  plural  imperative  in  10  (45). 
Get  you  up]  a  different  vb.  from  that  used  in  1621 ;  otherwise 
this  verse  is  verbally  identical  with  i62i-  22  (first  clause). — 
11  (46).   From  the  last  clause  of  the  previous  v.  we  may  infer 


XVII.  6-15  213 

that  Moses  and  Aaron  again  (cp.  16-^)  intercede  for  the  people, 
and  that  Moses  received  from  Yahweh  the  instruction  which 
he  here  gives  to  Aaron.  For  the  idioms  in  clause  a,  cp. 
i6^'-. — Put  fire  therein  from  off  the  altar^  i.e.  some  live  coals 
from  the  fire  which  was  always  burning  on  the  altar  (Lev. 
56  (13) .  (,p^  js^  56J .  jn  virtue  of  the  place  whence  they  were 
taken,  these  would  be  holy ;  see  n.  after  v.^  and  also  5^^  n. — 
Lay  incense  thereon\  the  last  word  is  not  expressed  in  f^,  but 
should  be  restored  from  fflc  ,S  U. — And  make  propitiation  f 07 
them]  cp.  8^^.  By  far  the  most  usual  means  of  making  pro- 
pitiation is  blood  (Lev.  17^^  (H) ;  cp.  6-^^^"^  i6^^'-),  or  offerings 
like  the  sin-offering  and  the  burnt-offering  (Lev.  i*),  which 
involved  the  effusion  and  ceremonial  use  of  blood.  But 
propitiation  could  also  be  made  by  other  means,  such  as 
the  half-shekel  paid  at  the  census  (Ex.  30^^) :  cp.  Driver 
in  Hastings'  DB.  iv.  130  f.  The  method  here  adopted  may 
show  the  influence  of  a  principle  analogous  to  that  noticed 
in  5^^  n.,  and  illustrated  in  the  passage  from  Pesikta  there 
cited.  As  the  people  had  sinned  by  means  of  censers  and 
incense,  so  propitiation  was  made  for  them  in  the  same 
way.  Cp.  also  the  story  of  the  Bronze  Serpent,  21^^. 
— For  the  wrathy  whose  coming  outbreak  is  indicated  in 
Yahweh's  words  in  v.^^,  has  gone  forth  from  Yahweh.  The 
divine  wrath  is  here  very  independently  conceived ;  cp.  2  Ch. 
19^  and  such  Targumic  idioms  as  "against  me  also  there  was 
anger  from  before  Yahweh"  (Dt.  i^''  tlL°).  A  similar  inde- 
pendence is  given  to  the  "truth"  of  God  in  Ps.  43^.  In  the 
references  back  to  this  passage  in  18^  the  weaker  phrase  found 
also  in  i^s,  Jos.  g^o  2220  is  used.— The  plague]  S^^  n.— 12  (47). 
Relates  the  carrying  out  of  the  instructions  given  in  v.^^,  but 
rather  ineptly;  note  the  order,  and  Aaron  took,  etc.,  and 
ran  .  .  .  and  ptit;  ct.  v.^^. — 13  (48).  The  plague]  the  same 
word  as  in  v.^"^  14^^ :  though  derived  from  the  same  root  it 
is  not  the  same  as  that  used  in  v.^^^-. — Those  that  died  in 
the  matter  of  Korah]  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  princes  who 
presented  the  censers  (16^^). — 15  (50).  After  the  plague  had 
been  stayed  (v.^^),  Aaron  returns  to  Moses,  who  is  still  (cp. 
v.^')  at  the  tent.      RV.  obscures  the  point  by  its  rendering 


2  14  NUMBERS 

of  the  last  clause,  which  should  rather  run,  the  plague  having 
been  stayed:  cp.  Driver,  Tenses,  i6. 

8.  '3D  "?«]  The  equivalent,  after  vbs.  expressing'  motion,  to  'JsV  after  vbs. 
of  rest :  cp.  20^",  Ex.  23",  Lev.  G  ^  16- :  so  Di.  on  Lev.  6''. — 10.  icin] 
Niphal  also  in  Ezek.  io^^-"-^^t.  On  the  form,  see  G.-K.  'jzdd. — 11. 
"iVi.i]  Imperative  Hiph.  ;  ffir  S  2^°  translate  by  transitives,  U  pergens, 
which  may  also  be  the  intention  of  S  -\hn,  i.e.  Ti^i!,  the  rarer  form  of  Imper. 
Kal.     Cp.  the  intransitive  vb.  (p'l)  in  the  next  v. 

16-26  (1-11).  The  superiority  of  the  trite  of  Levi  vindicated 
by  the  blossoming  of  Aaron's  stick. — V.^''-^^  ^^~^^,  Moses  is  to 
take  a  stick  from  each  of  the  twelve  secular  tribes,  and  to 
inscribe  on  each  stick  the  name  of  the  tribal  prince  ;  he  is  also 
to  take  a  stick  from  the  tribe  of  Levi,  inscribing"  on  it  the  name' 
of  Aaron.  He  is  then  to  leave  them  all  before  the  ark.  By  a 
miraculous  sign  Yahweh  will  still  the  complaints  of  the  people 
against  the  exclusive  rights  of  the  Levites  to  approach  Yahweh  ; 
for  the  stick  of  the  representative  of  the  tribe  whom  Yahweh 
chooses  to  approach  Him  will  bloom ;  v.^'^"-*,  the  directions 
given  in  v.^'^"^'^  carried  out  with  the  promised  effect ;  v.^^^^^, 
Aaron's  stick  blossoms  and  bears  ripe  almonds.  Subsequently 
the  princes  receive  their  sticks  back  again,  but  Aaron's  is 
put  back  and  kept  before  the  ark  as  a  warning-  token.  The 
meaning-  is  not  too  clearly  expressed  in  the  original ;  but  the 
foregoing-  seems  to  be  the  correct  interpretation,  especially 
in  regard  to  two  points,  (i)  The  number  of  sticks  is  in  all 
thirteen.  In  c.  1-3  the  secular  tribes  regularly  appear  as 
twelve  in  number,  and  Levi  stands  apart  as  a  thirteenth. 
Similarly,  in  c.  7  there  are  twelve  secular  princes  (d"'S'B'3). 
This  interpretation  does  most  justice  to  v.^^,  the  last  part  of 
which  is  rendered  by  U  periphrastically,  but  not  unreasonably, 
fueruntque  virgce  duodecem  absque  virga  Aaron.  So  Di.  and  Str. 
Others  [e.g.  Keil,  Reuss)  consider  that  only  twelve  sticks  in 
all  are  intended,  and  that  the  two  tribes  of  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh  here  count  as  one,  as  in  Dt.  27^2^  ^2)  The  point  of 
the  story  is  to  illustrate  the  distinction  between  the  secular 
tribes  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  sacred  tribe  of  Levi  as  a  whole 
on  the  other.  Aaron  is  the  tribal  representative  (cp.  v.^), 
corresponding^  to  the  representatives  of  the  other  tribes',  he 


XVII.   I6-I9  2  15 

Is  not  here  the  representative  of  the  priestly  section  of  that 
tribe  as  distinguished  from  the  merely  Levitical  families.  The 
motive  of  the  story  is  thus  in  accord  with  P^'s  story  of  Korah 
in  c.  i6-.     See  p.  191  f. 

17  (2).  And  take  from  them  one  stick  for  each  family,  fro?n 
all  their  princes  of  their  families  twelve  sticks]  A  stick  (i^^?) 
seems  to  have  been  as  regularly  carried  by  the  Hebrews  (see 
Gn.  381s- 25,  I  S.  14*^)  as  by  the  Babylonians  (Herod,  i.  195); 
it  was  with  this  stick  of  ordinary  life  that  Aaron  wrought  his 
miracles  in  Egypt  (see  Ex.  7®  8^-  ^-^^-  ^^^  (P)),  and  it  is  dried  sticks 
of  this  kind  that  are  here  intended.  It  is  only  quite  exception- 
ally (as,  perhaps,  in  Ezek.  7^°  19^^-  ^**  ^*),  if  at  all,  that  the  word 
is  used  of  a  fresh  rod.  By  metonymy  the  word  nj20  is  used 
(in  P  and  Ch.)  for  *'  tribe"  ;  it  is  probably  because  the  writer 
here  uses  the  word  nt2D  in  its  original  sense  that  he  selects  the 
expression  father's  house  or  family  [m  r\''2)  for  "tribe."  The 
** family"  is  generally  a  subdivision  of  a  tribe  (see  on  i^); 
but  the  specification  of  the  number  both  in  this  v.  and  in  v.-^  ^^^ 
quite  clearly  shows  that  it  here  denotes  one  of  the  twelve 
tribes.  The  princes  may  be  identical  with  those  mentioned  by 
name  in  c.  i.  2.  7.  10  and  called  in  i^^  **  princes  of  the  tribes  of 
their  fathers." — The  name  of  each  shall  thou  write  upon  his 
stick]  The  name  of  the  prince  is  written  on  behalf  of  his  tribe : 
cp.  v.2°  ^^\ — 18  (3).  The  Levites  also  are  to  present  one  stick, 
but  one  only,  inscribed  with  the  name  of  Aaron.  The  v.  would 
be  superfluous  if  Levi's  was  one  of  the  twelve  sticks  referred 
to  in  v.^'^  ^^ ;  for  there  could  be  no  question  that  Aaron  was 
the  prince  or  representative  of  this  tribe. — For  there  is  one  stick 
for  the  head  of  their  families]  the  Hebrew  does  not  admit  of  the 
distributive  rendering  of  RV.  Their  must  refer  to  the  collect, 
sing.  Levi{ep.  18-^  phil.  n.),  and  the  families  must  here  be  the 
main  divisions  of  the  tribe  of  Levi.  The  whole  tribe  is  to  have 
a  single  representative ;  its  several  divisions  are  not  to  be 
separately  represented  in  the  ordeal.  This  appears  to  be  the 
meaning  (cp.  Rashi),  but  it  is  obscurely  expressed. — 19.  Before 
the  testimony]  v. 25  do);  cp.  v.22(7)  Jjefore  Yahweh  in  the  tent  of 
the  testimony.  "The  testimony"  or  "law"  (Ex.  25^"- 21  ^.o^O), 
written  on  two  tablets  (Ex.  31^^  34^^)>  was  kept  in  the  ark, 


2l6  NUMBERS 

which  was  therefore  commonly  called  "  the  ark  of  the  testi- 
mony" (4^  7^9;  CH.  i6i^);  of  this  phrase  "the  testimony" 
may  in  some  cases,  such  as  Lev.  i6^^,  if  not  also  in  Ex.  i6^^ 
and  the  present  passage,  be  regarded  as  an  aboreviation.  In 
any  case  the  position  intended  is  before  the  ark.  Since  Yahweh 
there  meets  with  Israel  through  its  representative,  this  may  be 
described  as  "before  Yahweh"  (cp.  v.^^^'^^  and  20^). —  WJiere 
I  am  wont  to  meet  you]  You  refers  to  the  children  of  Israel, 
whom  Yahweh  met  in  the  person  of  their  representative 
Moses :  cp.  Ex.  29^2^  [^ ;  ct.  ffi  S  U).  S(&'S  and  some  Heb. 
MSS.  read  thee,  i.e.  Moses ;  cp.  Ex.  25^2  306-  36._20  (5).  The 
man  whom  as  representative  of  his  tribe  /  choose  that  he  and 
his  fellow  tribesmen  may  approach  me;  cp.  16^  n. — I  will  cause 
the  murmurings  to  cease  .  .  .  from  troubling  or  annoying  m,e\ 
the  double  preposition  7yn  is  expressive;  cp.  21^  25^,  Am.  5^2, 
and  see  BDB.  758^  (bottom).— 22  (7).  Before  Vahweh]  here 
and  in  v.-^=" before  the  ark":  cp.  v.^^n.,  also  Ex.  i6^^^- ; 
but  the  phrase  generally  means  "before  the  tent";  see  5^^n. 
— The  tent  of  the  testimony]  see  9^^  n. — 23  (8).  The  next  day 
Moses  returns  to  the  tent  and  finds  that  Aaron's  stick  has 
borne  ripe  almonds. — And,  behold,  the  stick  of  Aaron  of  the 
house  of  Levi  had  sprouted,  and  brought  forth  buds,  and  fully 
flowered,  mid  ripened  almonds]  the  terms  of  growth  are  prob- 
ably multiplied  in  order  to  emphasise  the  fact  that  in  a  single 
night  the  complete  process  of  growth,  up  to  the  production  of 
the  mature  fruit,  had  been  accomplished  in  the  previously  dry 
and  dead  stick.  Whether  the  second  and  third  terms  are  to 
be  so  sharply  distinguished  as  above,  or  whether  they  are  more 
completely  synonymous,  and  simply  used  together  here  for 
rhetorical  purposes,  is  somewhat  uncertain.  The  verb  of  the 
first  clause  (niQ),  which  is  primarily  used  of  the  budding  of 
the  flower  [e.g.  Is.  35^,  Cant.  6^^  7^^ — note  the  parallels),  is 
here  perhaps  used  of  shooting  forth  in  general ;  such  is  its 
meaning  in  Job  14^,  where  it  is  used  of  the  growth  from  the 
root  of  a  felled  tree,  and  its  use  of  the  shooting  forth  of 
leaves  is  implied  in  Pr.  ii^s.  The  noun  (niD)  of  the  second 
is  cognate  with  the  verb  of  the  first  clause.  It,  too,  some- 
times denotes  budding  shoots  or  foliage  (Nah.  i*);  if  it  had 


XVII.    20-25  217 

this  meaning  here  the  second  clause  would  be  synonymous  with 
the  first.  But  it  primarily  denotes  the  bud  or  blossom  (Is.  i8^), 
and  is  probably  used  with  this  meaning-  here.  The  noun  (pv) 
in  the  third  clause  which  forms  a  cognate  object  to  the  verb 
(y)!^))  occurs  elsewhere  of  flowers  growing  from  the  ground 
("the  flowers  of  the  field,"  Is.  40^8^  Ps.  103!^  cp.  Job  142), 
but  not  of  the  blossoms  of  a  tree.  Derenbourg  [ZATW.  v. 
p.  301  f.)  is  inclined  to  interpret  the  word  of  the  fruit  in  its 
immature  state  as  the  blossom  falls  away ;  cp.  Is.  18^.  The 
fruit  produced  by  the  stick  is  the  almond  (npc),  which  derives 
its  name,  meaning  "wakeful,"  from  the  fact  that  the  tree  is 
the  first  to  awake  from  its  winter  sleep  and  produce  blossoms. 

There  are  many  somewhat  similar  stories  of  the  miraculous  vegetation 
of  dried  sticks.     An  Englishman  readily  recalls  the  legend  of  Joseph  of 
Arimathea's  stick,  which,  placed  in  the  ground  of  Weary-all  hill,  became 
the  miraculous  thorn  of  Glastonbury.     The  stories  of  Hercules'  club  and 
Romulus'  spear  are  further  parallels.    Of  the  former,  Pausanias  relates  the 
story :  "  They  say  that  Hercules  leaned  his  club  against  this  image  [a 
Hermes],  and  the  club,  which  was  of  wild  olive  wood,  struck  root  in  the 
ground,  if  you  please,  and  sprouted  afresh  ;  and  the  tree  is  still  growing  " 
{Description  of  Greece,  il.  31^^  ed.  Frazer).     For  the  story  of  Romulus,  see 
Plutarch,  Romulus,  20,  and  Ovid,  Met.  xv.  560  ff. — 
Utque  Palatinis  hserentem  coUibus  olim, 
Quum  subito  vidit  frondescere  Romulus  hastatn 
Quae  radice  nova,  non  ferro  stabat  adacto, 
Et  iam  non  telum,  sed  lenti  viminis  arbor 
Non  expectatas  dabat  admirantibus  umbras. 
Reland  (Pal.  p.  712)  recalls  the  stories  of  the  sacred  terebinth  at  Hebron 
which  sprang  from  the  stick  of  the  angel  who  appeared  to  Abraham  ;  the 
terebinth  at  Smyrna  which  sprang  from  Polycarp's  stick  ;  and  the  ash 
which  grew  out  of  St.  Ethelred's  stick.    The  connection  with  the  omen 
of  rods  flourishing  or  withering   claimed   by  W.    R.    Smith   (Rel.   Sem. 
179  n.  5,  "^  196)  seems  less  close.     There  is  no  suggestion  in  the  story  that 
anything  happened  to  the  remaining  eleven  sticks. 

25  (10).  Tobekept\{n-\'r:>^^)  Ex.  \^^'^-^.—Forasig^t\zi^.  v.^.— 
The  sons  of  rehellion\  the  precise  phrase  {^"^O  "'33)  occurs  nowhere 
else  ;  but  cp.  "  rebellious  people  "  ('•"iD  DJ.'),  Is.  30®,  and  Ezekiel's 
frequently  recurring  term  for  Israel,  "  house  of  rebellion  "  (n-^ 
nQ(n)_Ezek.  2^- «• »  39-26.27  122-3.9.25  1^12  248).  Both  in  the 
present  phrase  and  in  Ezekiel's,  "rebellion"  is  a  rhetorical 
substitute  for  the  national  terms  in  the  idioms  "  sons  of  Israel " 
(i'N-iB'"'  ''33)  and  "  house  of  Israel"  (^sit'^  T\'*'i)  respectively. 


2l8  NUMBERS 

17.  IDE-  rx  c'n]  For  different  views  of  the  cstr.,  see  Ki5nig,  ill.  76  ;  G.-K. 
139c. — 18.  At  the  end  of  the  v.  ffir  adds  ddiffoviriv  ;  and  for  cxn"?  it  has  /card 
<f>v\7jv.  Possibly  this  difficult  clause  (see  above)  is  corrupt. — 19.  Dnn:ni] 
v.'^^,  Ex.  16^*  (P). — HDE']  G  S  (unnecessarily)  cb'. — 20.  'nrcn]  lit.  "  to  cause 
to  sink  "  ;  the  verb  is  used  here  only  in  Hiph. ;  the  Kal  is  used  in  Gn.  8^  (P) 
of  the  sinking  of  the  waters  ;  Est.  2^  7^"  of  the  cessation  of  wrath  ;  Jer.  5^®t 
of  the  stooping  of  fowlers. — 23.  nteo]  G  +  Kal  'Aapibv  :  cp.  v.-®. — 'i^  n-^h  pnn] 
the  *?  after  the  proper  name  is  a  periphrasis  for  the  gen.:  Konig,  iii.  280^. — 
25.  '?3?^]  syntax,  according  to  Driver,  Tenses,  60  ff.  MT.  points  as  2nd  pers. 
Piel  (subject  Moses),  and  implies  the  meaning  "  to  cause  to  cease,"  found 
elsewhere  (according  to  BDB.  p.  478^)  only  in  Ps.  78^.  C5  translates  koI 
7raxiad(T6o}=h:ri),  3rd  fern.  Kal — "that  the  murmurings  may  cease"  ;  simi- 
larly &  ;  for  the  meaning  of  the  Kal,  cp.  Is.  lo**  ;  for  the  fern.  sing,  subj., 
Dav.  116. — nnaiVn]  S  Dnu"?/! ;  cp.  v.'"'  ^  and  phil.  n.  on  14'.— 26.  nrc]  (!^  +  Kal 
'AafxLf  ;  at  end  of  v.  ixolr)(Tav=w]). 

27,  28  (12,  13).  These  verses,  containing  the  alarmed  con- 
fession of  the  people  that  access  to  Yahweh,  which  they  had 
claimed  through  Korah  (16^,  was  fatal,  and  that  they  are  all 
on  the  point  of  perishing  for  their  sins,  form  really  the  intro- 
duction to  the  next  c,  which  regulates  the  functions  and 
privileges  of  the  Levites,  who  do  the  service  of  the  tabernacle 
and,  by  guarding  access  to  it,  secure  the  safety  of  the  rest  of 
the  people. 

27.  Behold  we  expire  !  we  perish,  we  all  perish  !\  The  tenses 
in  the  Hebrew  are  perfects  of  certainty:  cp.  Is.  6^,  Jer.  4^^; 
Driver,  Tenses,  13.  The  first  vb.  (yij)  is  very  characteristic  of 
P:  cp.  2o3,  Gn.  S^^;  CH.  51.— 28a.  Cp.  18^;  also  iss  310.  38. 

On  the  connection  and  origin  of  these  verses,  see  Wellh.  Comp.  182 ; 
Kuenen  in  Th.  Tijd.  xii.  147  ;  Di. 

28.  Dsn]  a  strengthened  interrog.  (Kon.  iii.  353/j  ;  BDB.  50*) :  "Shall 
we  ever  finish  dying?"  ;  it  is  used  just  thus  only  here;  Job  6^^  is  different. 
— «Dn]  G.-K.  6-je. 

XVIII.  The  various  parts  of  this  chapter  have  been  to  a 
large  extent  anticipated ;  with  v.^~'^  cp.  i^o-ss  ^s-io.  33^  ^j^fj  with 
v.sfi-  cp.  e.g.  Lev.  2^-  ^o  6»-ii- 1»-  22  ds-is.  26. 29),  j^  spite  of  this 
it  seems  clear  that  the  present  chapter,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  v.^^^^,  formed  part  of  the  main  priestly  work  (P^). 

Positive  indications  of  this  are  (i)  the  close  connection  with  Pb's 
account  of  Korah's  rebellion :  as  in  the  story,  so  here  the  main  antithesis 
is  Levi  and  the  rest  of  Israel ;  whereas  in  17^'*  f*^'*'  Israel  exclaims  that 
they  must  all  perish,  Yahweh  in  iS'^-*- 21-23  regulates  the  functions  of 
Levi,  so  that  Israel  in  future  may  suffer  no  further  destruction   such  as 


XVII.  27-XVIlI.  2  219 

they  have  just  experienced  (with  18^  cp.  17"  (16^^)).  Levi  as  a  whole  is 
to  be  occupied  with  the  tabernacle,  that  the  rest  of  Israel  need  not  come 
into  perilous  proximity  to  it  (i8-^'").  Altogether  subordinate  to  this  main 
distinction  is  the  distinction  between  the  priests  (v.^"^'')  and  the  Levites 
(y^ 21-24^  in  respect  of  the  dues  payable  to  them  :  for  this  is  merely  made 
because  the  writer  wishes  not  simply  to  catalogue  the  dues  payable  by  the 
Israelites,  but  also  to  describe  the  different  destinations  and  different 
treatments  (v.^"*^^*  ^^)  of  the  several  dues.  As  contrasted  with  all  Israel, 
priesti  and  Levites  are  alike  distinguished  by  the  fact  that  they  have  no 
landed  possession  (v.^"*  ^).  (2)  The  reference  to  "the  altar"  in  the 
sing,  (v.^- ^') ;  cp.  Introd,  §  11.     (3)  The  inconsistency  between  v.^°  and 

At  the  same  time  the  c.  is  marked  by  certain  peculiarities. 
*'The  laws  in  v.^-^-^''  are  addressed  to  Aaron  (so  only  Lev. 
10^ ;  elsewhere  instructions  for  Aaron  are  imparted  through 
Moses,  e.g.  Lev.  8'^  16-  21^,  Nu.  6^^  8^);  and  the  customary 
formula  'spake  .  .  .  saying'  is  not  employed,  v.^-^-^",  ct.  2^" 
(CH.).  On  the  general  priestly  character  of  the  language, 
see  above,  p.  188. 

1-7.  The  duties  of  Levi. — The  priests  are  to  have  the 
immediate  care  of  the  sanctuary  and  the  altar  (v.^) ;  the  rest 
of  the  tribe  are  to  assist  them,  but  in  such  a  way  that  they 
do  not  come  into  direct  contact  with  the  sacred  objects  or  the 
altar  (v.^).  The  object  of  the  whole  arrangement  is  to  pre- 
vent the  rest  of  Israel  approaching  the  sanctuary,  and  so 
perishing  (v.^  :  cp.  lySTf.  (i2f.)^^ 

1.  Thou  and  thy  sons\  i.e.  the  priests. — The  house  of  thy 
father\  Genealogically  this  includes  the  previous  phrase ; 
but  from  an  ecclesiastical  standpoint  it  is  quite  naturally 
used  to  define  the  whole  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  exclusive  of 
the  family  of  Aaron;  see  p.  22. — Shall  bear  the  guilt  of  the 
sanctuar}>\  shall  bear  the  consequences  of  any  guilt  incurred 
in  connection  with  the  sanctuary,  such  as  that  of  coming  too 
near  it  (i^o).  For  the  phrase,  cp.  Ex.  2'^^  (CH.  2^)\  and  for 
"guilt"  (|iy)  in  the  sense  of  " the  consequences,  the  punish- 
ment of  guilt,"  see  14^*.  Since  the  danger  of  attending  to 
the  sanctuary  is  thus  confined  to  Levi,  the  fear  expressed  by 
the  people  (ly-''^-)  is  groundless. — 2.  The  tribe  of  Levi,  the 
tribe  of  thy  father\  the  term  noD  in  the  first  clause  is 
regularly  used  by  P  (see  n.  on  i*),  that  in  the  second  (ton::') 


2  20  NUMBERS 

very  rarely  (4^^  n.) ;  the  second  clause  is  probably  editorial, 
and  suggested  by  "the  house  of  thy  father"  in  v.^. — Bring 
near  with  thee\  scarcely  in  the  technical  sense  (16^  n.)  "bring 
near  to  God  in  company  with  thyself"  ;  but  rather,  in  view  of 
the  clauses  that  immediately  follow,  "  Have  brought  unto  thee 
(cp.  3^),  to  be  with  and  assist  thee  "  (^^^J^).  But  ffi,  perhaps 
rightly,  assimilates  the  clause  to  Ex.  28^  and  reads  3"ipn 
-[i^j^  =  "have  brought  unto  thee." — That  they  (Levi)  may  join 
themselves  {wyillavu)\  a  similar  paranomasia  may  be  found  in 
Gn.  29^*. — And  serve  thee  whilst  thou  and  thy  sons  with  thee 
are  before  the  tent  of  testimony  (9^^  n.)]  the  Levites  are  to 
assist  the  priests  when  the  latter  are  engaged  in  ritual 
duties.  The  last  clause  is  circumstantial  (Di.,  Tenses^  156- 
159),  not,  as  in  RV.,  antithetical. — 3a.  Cp.  3'^. — 3b.  Cp.  4^^. 
— 4.  The  Levites,  but  the  Levites  only,  may  thus  assist  the 
priests,  for  no  layman  (".t),  i.e.^  no  one  not  of  the  tribe  of  Levi 
(cp.  n.  on  i^^),  siiall  draw  near  to  you  (□3''px)  the  priests,  or, 
with  ffi  (ttjoo?  o-e),  to  thee,  i.e.  Aaron  ;  note  the  singular  pro- 
noun at  the  beginning  of  the  v. — 5.  Ye  shall  keep  the  charge 
of  the  sanctuary]  Sanctuary  (cj'Hpn)  is  used  with  a  variety  of 
implications ;  it  may  refer  to  the  whole  sacred  enclosure 
(cp.  e.g.  Lev.  10^^),  or  to  the  tent  (Lev.  10*),  or  to  the 
"holy  place"  (as  distinct  from  the  "  holy  of  holies  "),  i.e.  the 
outer  of  the  two  chambers  into  which  the  tabernacle  was 
divided  by  the  veil  (Ex.  26^^),  or  to  the  inner  chamber — "the 
holy  of  holies  "  (Lev.  i6^-  ^-  ^^-  ^"^  etc.).  If  the  present  v.  be 
intended  to  distinguish  between  the  objects  of  priestly  and 
Levitical  care,  the  term  is  best  regarded  either  as  an  abbre- 
viation for  "objects  of  the  sanctuary"  (v.^),  or  as  referring  to 
"the  holy  of  holies  "  (v.'^).  But  since  the  subject  of  the  vb. 
is  not  separately  expressed  (ct.  v.'^),  and  is  therefore  not 
emphasised,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  writer  at  this  point 
makes  the  transition  from  the  Levites,  who  have  constituted 
the  main  subject  of  the  previous  vv.,  to  the  priests  exclusively. 
The  subject  ye  may  rather  include  priests  and  Levites — all 
alike  must  keep  their  charge  if  the  Israelites  are  to  be 
prohibited  from  outbreaks  of  the  divine  wrath.  Then  in 
this  case  "sanctuary"  may  be  used   with   its  widest  signi- 


XVIII.  3-8  221 

ficatlon  and  refer  to  the  sacred  enclosure. — 5b.  Cp.  17^^. — 
6.  Cp.  3^  8^^-  ^^. — 7.  Biti  thou  mid  thy  sons\  The  priests,  as 
distinguished  from  the  Levites,  have  peculiar  priestly  duties 
to  discharge  (cp.  i''),  especially  in  connection  with  the  altar 
and  with  service  within  the  curtain  (Ex.  26^^,  Lev.  i6^^^-). — 
And  ye  shall  serve  ;  as  a  service  of  gift  I  give  your  pHesthood\ 
The  priesthood  is  a  favour  conferred  by  Yahweh  on  the 
priests.  But  the  phraseology  is  strange,  and  the  rest  of  the 
first  clause  abrupt ;  very  possibly  there  is  some  corruption  : 
cp.  ffir. — And  the  stranger\  here,  any  one  not  a  priest. —  Who 
draws  near]  to  perform  priestly  duties  :   16^  n. 

2.  iiV'i  .  .  .  'i"?]  such  puns  have  no  etymological  value.  For  sugg-ested 
etymologies  of  l"?,  see  the  literature  cited  in  BDB.  p.  532a. — 3.  Sin.i  h^] 
G  om.  hj, 

8-20.  The  priests'  dues. — A  summary  statement  (v.^)  that 
all  the  "holy  things  "  of  the  children  of  Israel  are  to  become 
the  property  of  the  priests  is  followed  by  a  series  of  specific 
directions,  as  follows : — Except  those  parts  which  are  burnt 
on  the  altar,  the  whole  of  all  meal-offerings,  sin-offerings, 
and  guilt-offerings  falls  to  the  priests,  and  may  be  eaten  by 
any  male  member  of  a  priestly  family  in  a  holy  place  (v.^*). 
All  the  contributed  portions  of  peace-offerings,  all  the  "fat" 
of  oil,  wine  and  corn,  and  all  first-ripe  fruits,  become  the 
property  of  the  priests,  and  may  be  eaten  by  any  member  of 
the  priestly  households,  male  or  female,  who  is  ceremonially 
clean  (v.^^~^^).  Further,  the  priests  are  to  appropriate  all 
"devoted  things"  (herem),  all  firstborn  of  clean  cattle  and 
the  redemption  price  of  all  firstborn  of  men  and  unclean  cattle 
^y_i4-i7^^  All  these  are  in  the  first  instance  the  property  of 
Yahweh,  and  are  given  by  Him  to  the  priests  because  they 
have  no  landed  possessions  in  Canaan  (v.^^-  ^'^).  On  the  value 
and  significance  of  these  dues,  see  below,  p.  236  ff. 

8.  /  have  given  unto  thee  that  which  is  kept  of  the  contribu- 
tions made  to  Me]  i.e.  that  part  of  the  offerings  which  is  not 
burnt  on  the  altar,  but  kept  over.  The  translation  assumes 
a  very  rare  concrete  sense  of  the  Hebrew  word  m?Dti'JO ;  but 
see  I  S.  2  2^^,  and  cp.  the  corresponding  abstract  use  in  17-^ 
19^,  Ex.  T2^  i6^-^2.     To  translate  (with  RV.),  "I  have  given 


222  NUMBERS 

thee  the  charg-e  of"  the  offerings  is  pointless;  dues,  not 
duties,  form  the  subject  of  the  v. — The  contributions — even  all 
the  holy  things]  5^  n. — To  thee  I  have  given  them  as  a  share] 
Lev.  7^^.  RV.  text  is  wrong- ;  see  phil.  n. — A  perpetual  due] 
the  word  pn  is  commonly  used  for  any  prescribed  or  estab- 
lished quantity,  especially  of  food,  as,  e.g.,  of  the  food  regu- 
larly granted  to  the  Egyptian  priests  by  Pharaoh  (Gn.  47^'') ; 
the  present  phrase  recurs  frequently  in  P  (Ex.  29^^,  Lev.  6^^  7^* 
iqIS  etc.). — 9.  This  shall  he  thine  of  the  most  holy  things  in  so 
far  as  they  are  not  burnt,  and  are,  therefore,  reserved  from 
the  ahar-fre.  This  is  substantially  the  meaning,  though  the 
very  terse  phrase  (K'Xn  p)  of  the  original  might  be  differently 
paraphrased.  Cp.  Lev.  2^,  "And  that  which  remains  [after 
a  handful  has  been  withdrawn  to  be  burnt  on  the  altar 
(v.^)]  of  the  meal-offering  shall  be  Aaron's  " ;  see  also  Lev. 
2I0  59^  Thg  term  "most  holy"  may  be  used  of  the  offerings 
mentioned  in  this  and  the  next  verse,  because  they  "obtained 
a  higher  consecration  "  as  compared  with  those  mentioned  in 
v.^^^'  (see  Driver  and  White,  Leviticus,  p.  63  f. ;  or,  more 
fully,  Baudissin,  Studien,  ii.  52 ff.);  but  the  terms  "holy" 
and  "most  holy"  are  used  rather  indifferently,  as  is  shown 
by  a  comparison  of  the  last  clauses  of  v.^  and  ^".  The 
portions  of  these  offerings  which  were  burnt  on  the  altar, 
and,  therefore,  did  not  fall  to  the  priests  were  in  the  case 
of  every  meal  offering  a  handful  (Lev.  2^  5^^  6^^^^^),  or  an 
undefined  amount  (Lev.  2^-  ^^) ;  and  in  the  case  of  animal 
sin-offerings  or  guilt-offerings,  "the  fat  pieces  "as  defined 
in  Lev.  4^^  (3^~^)  7^~^-  In  the  case  of  all  animal  offerings, 
moreover,  the  blood  was  withheld  from  human,  even 
priestly,  consumption.  The  burnt-offering  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  present  passage,  for  no  part  of  it  was  eaten ;  yet 
although  the  whole  of  the  flesh  was  burnt  on  the  altar  (Lev. 
i^-  ^^),  the  skin  was  previously  removed,  and  became  the 
property  of  the  priest.  Lev.  7^.  The  peace-offerings  are 
treated  in  v.^^  (cp.  v.^^). — Their  guilt-offering  with  which 
they  make  restitution  to  Me]  the  relative  clause  is  best  thus 
rendered,  and  so  limited  to  the  last  term ;  cp.  5'^'^-.  The 
''asham  was  originally  a  compensation  for  wrong  done ;    see 


XVIII.  9-II  223 

1  S.  6. — 10.  In  a  most  holy  place  shall  thou  eat  it\  in  Lev. 
59. 19  (16.  26)  y6  j|-  js  laid  down  that  the  meal-offering,  the  sin- 
offering,  and  the  guilt-offering  shall  be  eaten  "in  a  holy 
place,"  In  the  two  former  passages  "the  holy  place"  is 
defined  by  a  following  clause  (which  may  well  be  a  gloss, 
yet,  if  so,  an  early  and  correct  one)  to  be  "the  court  of  the 
tent  of  meeting."  The  same  place  must  be  intended  here 
[Siphri'.  Rashi,  Di.),  though  it  is  uniquely  described  by  the 
phrase  which  commonly  defines  the  inner  part  of  the  tent 
(Ex.  26^^).  Ezekiel  (42^^  46^*^)  also  requires  the  holy  things 
to  be  eaten  in  a  holy  place,  viz.  in  the  chambers  of  the 
inner  cowvt.  —  Every  male]  Lev.  611-22(18.29)  f,__\\.  The 
contribution  from  their  gift,  inchiding  all  the  ivave-offerings\ 
The  peace-offerings  are  here  referred  to ;  parts  of  these  were 
contributed  to  the  priest,  and  a  part  was  waved  (Lev.  'f^~^'). 
For  some  unknown  reason,  instead  of  using  the  technical 
term  D''O^K',  the  writer  here  refers  to  these  offerings  by  the 
vague  word  gift  (IDO),  which  is  used  but  once  again  in  the 
Hexateuch,  and  then  not  of  a  sacrificial  offering  (Gn.  3412). 
The  word,  it  is  true,  is  not  an  unsuitable  description  of  the 
peace-offerings  even  from  the  standpoint  of  P,  who  classes 
them  as  korban^  "gifts  made  at  the  altar"  (Lev.  3).  Never- 
theless, though  presented  at  the  altar,  the  greater  part 
of  a  peace-offering  was  not  in  any  further  sense  a  gift  to 
Yahweh :  it  was  consumed  at  a  sacrificial  meal,  in  which 
any  one  ceremonially  clean  might  partake  (Lev.  ^'^^'^). 
Ordinarily  the  portions  contributed  from  the  whole  offering  to 
the  priest  were  the  breast  and  the  right  thigh  (Lev.  ^31-34^ . 
in  exceptional  cases,  such  as  that  of  the  Nazirite's  peace- 
offering  (61^^-),  additional  portions  were  contributed :  together 
these  parts  constituted  the  frtimah  (5^  n.),  or  contribution 
from  the  peace-offering.  Of  these  pieces  one  (in  exceptional 
cases  others,  G^^'-),  viz.  the  breast,  was  ceremonially  waved 
(6-°  n.) ;  this  part  of  the  frumah  was  called  specifically 
fnuphah  or  toave-offering.  All  the  parts,  then,  of  the  peace- 
offering  given  to  the  priest  are  referred  to  in  the  first  of 
the  two  clauses  in  the  text ;  the  part  waved  is  particularly 
specified  in  the  second.     This  is  the  most  probable  interpre- 


224  NUMBERS 

tatlon ;  for  In  spite  of  the  universal  phrase  {all  the  "wave- 
offerings),  everything  called  {niiphah,  or  subject  to  the  rite  of 
waving",  cannot  be  intended  here.  For,  described  as  fniipliah, 
or  as  subject  to  the  rite  of  waving",  are  the  following: — (i) 
the  gold  and  bronze  given  for  the  tabernacle  (Ex.  35^2  38-*-  2^) ; 
the  Levites  (8^^-^^-^^);  (2)  portions  of  the  "ram  of  consecra- 
tion "  and  its  accompaniments  subsequently  burnt  in  the 
altar-fire  (Ex.  29^-"^,  Lev.  325-28) .  ^^  certain  guilt-offerings 
(Lev.  14^^-  -^-  2*) ;  (4)  the  sheaf  of  first-fruits  and  the  bread  of 
first-fruits  with  certain  accompanying  sacrifices  (Lev.  23^°"-°) ; 
(5)  the  meal-offering  presented  in  connection  with  the  ordeal 
of  jealousy  (5^^) ;  (6)  quite  exceptionally  the  thigh  as  well  as 
the  breast  of  the  peace-offering  is  required  to  be  waved,  Lev. 
g2i  jq15^  "phe  fnuphoth  contemplated  in  the  present  law,  since 
they  are  to  be  eaten,  cannot  include  the  first  and  second 
groups ;  nor,  presumably,  do  they  include  the  third  and 
fifth  groups,  since  these  already  fall  under  the  law  of  v.^^- ; 
nor  the  fourth  group,  which  falls  under  the  law  of  v.^-^-.  As 
to  (6),  i.  the  theory  of  Lev.  9-^  10^^  govern  the  present  law, 
which  is  improbable,  the  two  terms  in  the  text  must  be 
treated  as  coextensive,  and  rendered  the  contribution  from 
their  gift,  even  all  the  wave-offerings,  the  last  clause  being 
limited  by  the  context  to  the  parts  of  the  peace-offering 
which  were  waved.  —  Every  one  that  is  clca7i]  Lev.  22^"'^. — 
Every  one  .  .  .  in  thy  house]  Lev.  22^°"^^.  The  necessity 
for  being  ceremonially  "clean"  when  partaking  of  sacred 
food  was  an  ancient  regulation  (i  S.  21^*-). — 12.  All  the 
fat]  fig.  for  "best":  cp.  Dt.  32",  Ps.  Si^^Cie)  i^f\—0il.  .  . 
must  .  .  .  com]  the  terms  (in:»\  tjn\~i,  pi)  denote  the  new 
produce  as  contrasted  with  )Df,  p,  and  13C'.  On  CiTi 
{  =  fniist,  or  fiew  wine),  see  Dr.,  foel,  79  f. — The  first  of  them] 
This  repeats  by  means  of  the  more  technical  word  (n^t^*N'^), 
used  in  the  parallel  law  of  Dt.  18*  (cp.  Ex.  23^®),  the  sense  of 
**  the  best  of  .  .  ."  How  the  part  to  be  given  to  the  priests 
was  computed  is  not  stated.  On  later  practice,  see  below. — 
13.  The  first-ripe  fruits  of  all  that  is  in  thy  land]  Some  [e.g. 
Di.)  have  taken  this  to  be  a  generalising  repetition  of  v.^^,  in- 
tended to  correct  the  inference  that  the  offerings  in  question 


XVIII.   12,  13  225 

were  to  be  confined  to  corn,  wine,  oil.  But  this  is  hardly 
probable.  A  distinction  is  drawn  in  Neh.  lo^*^- ^^(ss.  37)  ^^g. 
tween  "  the  first-ripe  fruits  (^1"l-3)  of  our  ground  and  the  first- 
ripe  fruits  of  all  fruit  of  all  trees "  which  were  brought 
"yearly  to  the  house  of  Yahweh "  on  the  one  hand,  and  a 
"contribution"  (distinct  from  tithe)  of  agricultural  produce 
made-  to  the  priests  on  the  other.  This  distinction  reappears 
in  the  Mishnah ;  and  the  two  offerings,  there  clearly  dis- 
tinguished as  bikktirim  and  frumah,  are  discussed  at  length 
in  the  tracts  bearing  those  names.  Probably  the  Ciiaa  of 
this  v.,  like  the  Dni33  of  Neh.  lo^^^^^^  and  the  Mishnah,  were 
comparatively  small  offerings  of  raw  produce,  which  became 
indeed,  like  other  offerings  or  portions  thereof,  the  property 
of  the  priests,  but  only  after  being  presented  with  religious 
ceremony  at  the  temple,  whereas  the  n^C^'X")  of  v.^^,  like  the 
offerings  mentioned  in  Neh.  lo^'^*  ^^^^  and  the  fT^imah  of  the 
Mishnah,  was  a  contribution  of  meal,  fruit,  wine,  oil,  etc., 
given  as  a  tribute  simply  and  immediately,  without  religious 
ceremony,  to  the  priests.  See,  further,  the  small  print  n.  that 
follows. —  WJiich  they  bring  to  Vahweh]  cp.  Neh.  lo^'^^^^^  "to 
bring  the  first-ripe  fruits  ...  to  the  house  of  Yahweh." 
The  first-ripe  fruits  were  oflfered  with  a  solemn  ceremonial 
at  the  temple,  as  they  must  have  been  earlier  at  the  local 
sanctuaries :  cp.  Ex.  23^^  34"^,  Dt.  26^"^^,  BiMiirzm,  c.  3  (cited 
below).  Philo,  De  testo  c<?/>/i/?n*(Tischendorf,  Philonea,  69-71  ; 
Young's  translation,  iii.  291-293). 

The  dedication  to  the  deity  of  a  portion  of  the  new  produce  of  the  3'ear 
is  a  widely  prevalent  custom.  "Primitive  peoples  often  partake  of  the 
new  corn  sacramentally,  because  they  suppose  it  to  be  instinct  with  a 
divine  spirit  or  life.  At  a  later  age,  when  the  fruits  of  the  earth  are  con- 
ceived as  created  rather  than  as  animated  by  divinity,  the  new  fruits  are 
no  longer  partaken  of  sacramentally  as  the  body  and  blood  of  a  god  ;  but 
a  portion  of  them  is  presented  as  a  thank-offering  to  the  divine  beings 
who  are  believed  to  have  produced  them.  .  .  .  Till  the  first-fruits  have 
been  offered  to  the  deity  .  .  .  people  are  not  at  liberty  to  eat  of  the 
new  crops"  (Frazer,  GB.  ii.  458).  The  following  are  cited  from  a  large 
number  of  examples  collected  by  Frazer  (/6.  318-340,  459-471):  "Amono- 
the  Basutos  when  the  corn  has  been  threshed  and  winnowed,  it  is  left  in  a 
heap  on  the  threshing-floor.  Before  it  can  be  touched  a  religious  cere- 
mony must  be  performed.  The  persons  to  whom  the  corn  belongs  bring 
a  new  vessel  to  the  spot,  in  which  they  boil  some  of  the  grain.     When  it 

IS 


2  26  NUMBERS 

is  boiled  they  throw  a  few  handfuls  of  it  on  the  heap  of  corn,  saying, 
'  Thank  you,  gods,  give  us  bread  to-morrow  also  ! '  When  this  is  done 
the  rest  is  eaten,  and  the  provision  for  the  year  is  considered  pure  and  fit  to 
eat "  (459).  "At  the  close  of  the  rice  harvest  in  the  East  Indian  island  of 
Buro,  each  clan  meets  at  a  common  sacramental  meal,  to  which  every 
member  of  the  clan  is  bound  to  contribute  a  little  of  the  new  rice.  This 
meal  is  called  'eating  the  soul  of  the  rice,'  .  .  .  Some  of  the  rice  is  also 
set  apart  and  offered  to  the  spirits  "  (321).  "  The  Chams  of  Binh-Thuan, 
in  Indo-China,  may  not  reap  the  rice  harvest  until  they  have  offered  the 
first-fruits  to  Po-Nagar,  the  goddess  of  agriculture,  and  have  consumed 
them  sacramentally "  (323).  In  Fiji  the  new  yams  may  not  be  eaten 
before  the  first-fruits  have  been  dedicated  ;  but  the  custom  as  to  disposing 
of  the  first-fruits  differs  :  in  some  parts  they  are  presented  in  the  sacred 
enclosure,  and  there  left  to  rot;  in  others  they  "are  presented  at  the 
principal  temple  of  the  district,  become  the  property  of  the  priests,  and 
form  their  revenue"  (p.  464).  "In  the  Punjaub  .  .  .  when  the  sugar- 
cane is  cut  the  first-fruits  are  offered  on  an  altar,  which  is  built  close  to 
the  press,  and  is  sacred  to  the  sugar-cane  god.  Afterwards  the  first-fruits 
are  given  to  the  Brahnfans  "  (461  f.). 

Dedication  of  a  part  of  the  new  produce  was  unquestionably  an  ancient 
custom  with  the  Hebrews  also.  The  early  lawbook  forbids  delay  in 
making  the  offering,  and  requires  it  to  be  made  at  the  house  of  Yahweh, 
i.e.  at  the  local  sanctuary  (Ex.  22^^(-')  23*^  34"'')-  In  H  it  is  required  that 
a  particular  kind  of  first-fruit  offering  must  be  made  before  the  new  crops 
may  be  eaten  (Lev.  23'""^*).  But  unfortunately  the  early  references  gfive 
no  information  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  offering ;  it  is  consequently 
impossible  to  decide  whether  the  first-fruits  among  the  Hebrews  were  in 
early  times  consumed  sacramentally,  as  the  tithes  at  one  time  unquestion- 
ably were  (see  on  v.^'),  and  as  the  first-fruits  themselves,  according  to  the 
customs  of  some  countries  just  described  ;  or  whether  from  the  first  among 
the  Hebrews  they  formed  a  gift  outright  to  Yahweh  or  His  representative 
the  priest.  The  former  view  is  adopted  by  We.  {Prolcg.  155  f.)  and 
Nowack  (^Arch.  ii.  255-257),  the  latter  by  W.  R.  Smith  {Religion  of  the 
Semites,  222{.,  *24of.).  In  the  former  case  the  later  assignment  of  the 
contribution  to  the  priests,  which  had  taken  place  by  the  time  of  Dt.  iS* 
(cp.  Ezek.  44'"),  was  merely  due  to  the  same  tendency  which,  at  a  later 
date  than  Dt.,  changed  the  disposal  of  the  firstborn  and  of  the  tithe  (see 
below,  on  v.^-'s-  21-24). 

All  the  new  produce  that  came  to  the  priests  (even  in  the  7th  cent.) 
was  scarcely  subjected  to  such  elaborate  ceremonial  as  is  described  in 
Lev.  23"*""'  "■*'*  or  Dt.  26"'".  Consequently  the  distinction  which  is 
certainly  drawn  in  Neh.  lo^'*'^,  and  probably  in  the  present  passage, 
may  rest  on  earlier  differences — differences  in  the  mode  of  presentation, 
if  not  in  the  ultimate  mode  of  disposal  of  the  produce  offered. 

But  such  a  difference,  if  indicated  here,  is  not  indicated  by  the  mere 
use  of  the  two  different  terms  n^B'isn  and  nmaa.  For  in  themselves  they 
are,  though  not  indeed  in  all  cases,  interchangeable,  yet  certainly 
not  mutually  exclusive.  They  are  two  among  several  terms  that  are 
used  to  denote  (some  of)  the  new  produce  of  the  year,  or,  specifically,  that 


XVIII.   13  227 

part  of  it  which  was  dedicated  to  the  deity ;  other  terms  are  ni'om  n.S''?a 
(Ex.  22-^,  cp,  v.^''  below)  ;  riNun  with  the  addition  of  such  a  g-enitive  as 
ap',  p3  (v.*"),  DID  or  ma;  nDi-in  (v.-'')  or  ddt  nonn  (Dt.  12^),  or,  specifically, 
pj  naiin  (15^").  Of  these,  nann  only  is  necessarily  confined,  when  used  in 
reference  to  the  new  produce  of  the  year,  to  that  part  of  it  which  was 
withdrawn  from  the  whole  for  sacred  purposes.  Both  mi32  and  n'C'XT  are 
primarily  wider  terms  than  nonn,  though  less  wide  than  nNun  ;  and  it  is, 
strictly  speaking-,  only  pari  of  what  is  so  termed  that  is  offered  to  the 
deity  ;  hence  the  partitive  p  in  Dt.  26^,  Prov.  3*,  and  the  defining  clauses 
added  here,  "the  n'rxi  which  they  give  unto  Yahweh,"  "the  Qni^a 
which  they  bring  to  Yahweh."  So  in  Lev.  23^**  the  sheaf  that  is  offered 
is  "the  sheaf  0/ the  first  (n'r^n)  of  thy  harvest"  (in  Ex.  23^®  34'",  on  the 
other  hand,  n'lt'NT  and  Dm^a  are  coextensive  rather  than  part  and  whole  ; 
the  case  may  be  different  in  Ezek.  44^"). 

But  commonly  the  partitive  construction  is  dropped,  and  then 
reshith  and  bikkArhn  are  tacitly  understood  to  mean  that  part  of  the 
produce  so  termed  that  is  to  be  offered  or  given ;  so  Dt.  26^*  (ct.  v.^), 
Neh.  lo^^  13^^  2  Ch.  31^,  and  Ex.  22^  23^®  34-®  are  best  understood  in  the 
same  way.  But  observe  that  "bread  of  first-fruits"  (nmD3  en'?)  is  eaten 
by  ordinary  people  on  an  occasion  which  nothing  suggests  was  in  any 
way  sacred,  2  K.  4^^. 

The  two  terms  reshith  and  bikMrim  are  rendered  indifferentlj'  in  EV. 
by  "first-fruits,"  though  the  latter  is  here  and  in  Nah.  3^*  exceptionally 
rendered  "  first  ripe  (fruits)  "  ;  cp.*  the  same  rendering  of  miD3  in  Hos.  9^", 
Mic.  7'.  (&  in  the  Hexateuch  distinguishes  the  words,  rendering  n'tyxn  by 
iirapxai  (which  also  renders  "wv^,  2hn,  n£3i3n,  and  nnnn)  and  Dm33  by  irpono- 
yevv'/j/xaTa  (in  Ezek.  44^"  48"  =  ri'B'.sn) ;  in  this  way  ffir  also  brings  out  the 
close  etymological  connection  between  the  first-fruits  and  the  firstborn 
(y:!2  =  irpuT6TOKos).  But  nx'NT  though  in  itself  of  far  more  general  meaning 
(="the  first  part"),  and,  therefore,  almost  always  defined  by  a  genitive 
such  as  Tsp,  ns  (in  Lev.  2^^  it  is  exceptionally  undefined),  is,  when  applied 
to  agricultural  produce,  virtually  synonymous  with  Dm33,  and  thus,  for 
example,  "iTsp  n'C'NT  nnj;  (Lev.  23^")  might  equally  well  have  been  termed 
DniD3n  loy,  and  similarly  the  ne-nn  rm:a  (Lev.  23^")  or  omonn  cnS  (v.-**,  cp. 
v.^'')  might  have  been  called  n'B'NT  en"?.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Dt.  does  not 
employ  the  term  D'niD3,  and  uses  the  word  nx-NT  alike  of  the  offering  made 
with  religious  ceremony  in  Dt.  26'-"^"  and  of  the  contribution  simply 
required  for  the  priest  in  18^.  So  again,  though  in  the  present  passage 
Dm33  (v.^^)  probably  is  an  offering  of  raw  produce,  this  distinction  is  not 
made  clear  by  the  mere  use  of  the  term  ;  for  while  ti'iyNn  certainly  is  used 
of  raw  produce  in  Dt.  26'-"'°  and  Lev.  23^°,  cnirin  is  not  limited  to  offerings 
made  in  that  form  ;  for  see  Lev.  23"-2''  (H)  2^'*  (P).  The  two  terms,  then, 
are  sufficiently  coextensive  to  admit  of  Di.'s  interpretation  of  v.'*  men- 
tioned above. 

But  the  facts  that  the  two  different  terms  are  used  in  two  consecutive 
verses,  that  the  second  is  strictly  the  narrower,  and  still  more  the  differ- 
ence in  the  two  defining  clauses  render  the  alternative  view  more  probable  ; 
"the  n"-NT  .  •  .  which  they  give  unto  Yahweh"  (v. '^) is  a  contribution  or 
tribute  paid  outright,  with  little  or  no  religious  ceremony,  to  the  priests 


2  28  NUMBERS 

(cp.  Dt.  iS^  Neh.  lo^,  2  Ch.  31^) ;  "the  Dni33  .  .  .  which  they  bring  to 
Yahweh  "  (v.^'*)  are  offerings  of  the  raw  produce  which  were  brought  to 
the  sanctuary  and  offered  with  ceremony,  offerings  such  as  are  described 
in  Lev.  231"-^*,  Dt.  262-">,  and  in  BikMrtm,  c.  3. 

The  distinction  just  drawn  was  familiar  to  the  Jewish  scholars  of  the 
Mishnah.  Though  some  of  the  details  there  given  are  manifestly  far 
more  recent  than  the  present  law,  others  may  be  much  earlier  than  the 
ist  or  2nd  cent.  A.D.,  and  illustrate  at  least  the  outcome  of  the  laws  given 
in  the  text. 

According  to  the  Mishnah,  the  products  of  the  soil  were  subject  to  four 
exactions  named  as  follows,  and  exacted  in  the  following  order  {T'rtimoth 
iii.  6) :  (i)  bikkdrijn,  (2)  t^rHmah,  (3)  tithe  {fna'aser),  (4)  second  tithe 
{ma'aser  sheiii).  Of  these  the  fourth  resulted  from  an  attempt  to  reconcile 
the  two  different  but  not  originally  coexisting  laws  of  tithe  stated  in 
Dt.  i4-2"29  and  Nu.  18^^"^  respectively,  at  some  time  subsequent  to  the 
union  of  Dt.  and  P  in  the  Hexateuch,  and  earlier  than  Tob.  i',  Jos.  Anf. 
iv.  8^  (cp.  Driver,  Dt.  169-173).  The  first  tithe  of  the  Mishnah  corresponds 
to  the  tithe  of  this  c,  discussed  below.  The  Mishnah  recognises  that 
both  the  bikkfirim  and  the  t^rdmah  were  included  under  the  OT.  term 
D'CNT  (lyrilmoth  Iii.  7).  Nevertheless  the  bikkftrim  and  t^rdmah  of  the 
Mishnah  differ  widel}'  from  one  another.  The  bikkiirim  are  clearly 
offerings  of  the  same  nature  as  the  offerings  of  reshith  described  in 
Dt.  26-"'"  and  Lev.  23'",  and  apparently  identical  with  the  bikkiirim 
"brought  to  Yahweh"  (Nu.  18")  or  "to  the  house  of  Yahweh  yearly" 
(Neh.  10'®).  According  to  the  Mishnah  {Bikkiirim),  the  bikkiirim  were 
only  offered  of  the  "  seven  kinds,"  i.e.  of  wheat,  barley,  vines,  fig-trees, 
pomegranates,  oil,  and  honey  (i.  10 ;  cp.  ii.  3,  iii.  9) ;  they  had  to  be 
brought  to  Jerusalem  (ii.  2),  fresh  by  those  living  near,  dry  by  those 
living  at  a  distance  (iii.  3),  and  ceased  to  be  offered  with  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  (ii.  3).  The  bikkdrim  were  selected  as  follows  :  "  If  any  man 
went  down  into  his  field  and  saw  a  fig,  grape-cluster,  or  pomegranate 
grown  ripe  he  tied  it  with  bast  ("OJ)  and  said,  *  Lo  these  are  bikkiirim 
(iii.  i).  When  they  were  to  be  taken  to  Jerusalem  all  the  inhabitants  of  a 
district  assembled  at  the  chief  town.  They  achieved  their  journey  to 
the  music  of  pipes,  with  the  ox,  to  be  offered  as  a  peace-offering,  pre- 
ceding them,  his  ears  tipped  with  gold  and  crowned  with  olive  leaves. 
On  approaching  Jerusalem  they  were  welcomed  by  the  inhabitants,  and 
the  music  was  kept  up  till  they  reached  the  temple-mount.  Arrived  there, 
every  man  shouldered  his  basket  containing  the  fruits,  and  proceeded  to 
the  fore-court,  where  they  were  met  by  Levites  reciting  Ps.  30.  The 
animal  offerings  were  offered  ;  the  offerers  began  to  recite  Dt.  26'*^*,  and, 
in  the  middle  of  the  recitation,  the  basket  was  removed  and  placed  by  the 
priest  on  the  altar  (c.  iii.).  Thus  to  the  very  last  this  offering  of  first-fruits 
retained  much  of  its  primitive  character;  the  fruit  indeed  fell  to  the  priest, 
but  was  of  comparatively  small  value ;  the  religious  ceremony  was  still 
the  predominant  feature  in  the  custom. 

Very  different  was  the  t^riimah  of  later  times.  It  did  not  need  to  be 
brought  to  Jerusalem,  and  could  consequently  be  contributed  after  the  fall 
of  the  city  (Bik.  ii.  2  f.).    It  was  exacted  on  all  vegetable  produce  (nn'jjn  hj  : 


XVIII.   14  2  29 

Bik.  n.  3;  cp.,  perhaps,  tto-vtuiv  tQiv  iK  rijs  y^s  (pvoj-L^wv  Kap-n-Zv,  Jos. 
Ant.  iv.  4-',  and  Philo,  De prcetn.  sac.  i  (Mangey,  ii.  233)) ;  and  in  T^rilmoth 
reference  is  incidentally  made  not  only  to  the  more  important  products 
like  grain,  wine,  and  oil,  but  also  to  cucumbers,  melons,  onions,  and  the 
like,  as  subject  to  the  exaction  {T'nh)ioth  ii.  5,  6,  iii.  i,  ix.  6).  The  amount 
of  t^rAmah  was  not  fixed,  but  was  expected  to  be  not  less  than  ^V  ^nd 
might  be  anything  up  to  -^  or,  according  to  Shammai,  -^  (iv.  3).  When 
the  amount  of  the  new  produce  to  be  given  to  the  priest  became  even  so 
much  fixed  as  this  cannot  be  determined  ;  the  present  law,  like  Dt.  18^, 
says  nothing  on  the  subject. 

14.  Cp.  Ezek.  44^^. — Every  devoted  thing\  herem  here,  as 
in  Lev.  27^^-  ^9,  appears  to  mean  anythingf  so  dedicated  to 
Yahweh  that  it  could  not  be  redeemed.  Obviously  the 
present  law  cannot  contemplate  the  objects  of  such  acts  of 
banning  or  devotion  as  are  described  in,  e.g..^  21^*  (n.),  Dt.  7^^-, 
Jos.  G-'^-  2^,  I  S.  15  ;  for  in  these  cases  the  objects  of  the  ban  are 
primarily  human  being-s,  and  the  effect  of  the  ban  is  that  they 
are  put  to  death.  The  germ  of  the  present  use  of  the  term 
may  be  found  in  the  custom  of  placing  the  silver  and  gold  of 
a  "  devoted"  place  in  the  sacred  treasury  (Jos.  6^^).  But  the 
phraseology  here — everything  devoted  in  Israel — as  well  as  the 
passage  cited  from  Lev.  favours  the  view  that  herem  in  this 
law  is  used  of  objects  directly  dedicated  by  individual  Israel- 
ites, rather  than  objects  belonging  to  an  individual  or  people 
placed  under  ban  by  the  whole  of  Israel ;  see  Now.  Arch.  ii. 
268. — 15-18.  The  rights  of  the  priests  in  the  firstborn  consist 
of  the  redemption  price  of  the  firstborn  of  men,  which  is  fixed 
at  five  shekels,  equivalent  to  about  twelve  shillings,  a  head 
(3*'^  n.),  the  redemption  price  of  unclean  animals,  and  the  whole 
of  the  flesh  of  the  firstborn  of  clean  cattle.  The  claim  of 
Yahweh  to  the  firstborn  was  unquestionably  ancient ;  the 
early  laws  are  familiar  with  it  (Ex.  1313  322Sf.(29f.)  3^20),  g^j^ 
the  assignment  of  the  firstborn  or  of  the  fine  paid  for  their 
redemption  to  the  priests  is  probably  more  recent  than  Ezekiel, 
who  does  not  include  the  firstborn  among  the  dues  payable  to 
the  priests  (Ezek.  44^8-31)^  and  almost  certainly  more  recent  than 
Deuteronomy,  which  gives  different  directions  for  the  disposal 
of  the  firstborn. 

In  Dt.  only  the  case  of  the  firstborn  of  clean  cattle  is  considered  (15^''-' 
12"'-  1423).     On  the  incompatibility  of  the  law  of  Dt.  and  Nu.  18^^"",  and 


230  NUMBER.3 

also  on  the  probably  superior  antiquity  of  the  former,  see  below,  p.  236  f., 
and  Dr.  Deut.  p.  187.  Here  it  may  suffice  to  record  the  known  differ- 
ences in  the  disposal  of  the  three  classes  of  firstborn  (men,  clean  animals, 
unclean  animals)  as  described  in  this  law  and  elsewhere,  (i)  Unclean 
cattle.  These,  according  to  the  present  law,  must  be  redeemed,  and  the 
price  of  redemption  paid  to  the  priest ;  according  to  Ex.  13^,  in  the 
(typical)  case  of  the  ass,  redemption  was  optional ;  if  adopted,  it  is  not 
stated  that  the  price  of  redemption  goes  to  the  priest ;  nor  is  it  likely,  for 
it  was  redeemed  in  kind  by  a  lamb,  and  this,  in  all  probability,  was 
treated  like  a  firstborn  of  clean  animals.  In  any  case,  if  the  option  of 
killing  the  ass  was  adopted,  there  being  no  redemption  price,  the  priest 
received  nothing.  (2)  Clean  cattle.  These,  according  to  Dt.,  were  eaten, 
not  as  the  present  law  requires,  by  the  priests  alone,  but,  at  a  sacred 
meal,  by  the  man  and  his  household  to  whom  the  firstborn  belonged. 
The  Levite  is  simply  commended  to  the  hospitality  of  the  Israelites  on 
such  occasions  (Dt.  la^^^*  14^).  (3)  Men.  Various  views  have  been  held 
as  to  the  original  effect  of  Yahweh's  claim  to  the  firstborn  of  men  :  one 
has  been  noticed  above  (p.  26)  ;  according  to  another  the  firstborn  were 
sacrified ;  see  Frazer,  GB.  ii.  43-52 ;  and,  briefly,  Nold.  in  ZDMG.  xlii. 
(1888)  483  :  e  contra  We.  Proleg.*  87  f.;  W.  R.  Smith,  Eel.  of  the  Semites,'^ 
445  ;  Kamphausen,  Die  Verhdltnis  des  Menschenopfer  zur  israelitischen 
Religion,  63  fF.  However  this  may  be,  from  the  time  of  the  earliest  codes 
the  custom  in  Israel  was  to  redeem  the  firstborn.  So  far  the  present  law 
agrees  with  at  least  comparatively  ancient  custom  in  Israel.  But  the 
early  law  is  at  least  silent  as  to  any  assignment  of  the  redemption  to  the 
priest,  nor  does  it  fix  the  redemption  at  any  definite  price.  Possibly  in 
earlier  times  the  price  was  variable.  W.  R.  Smith  argues  at  length  in 
The  Religion  of  the  Semites  (note  K)  against  the  theory  that  the  firstborn 
originally  constituted  a  source  of  tribute  to  the  deity  (or  priest). 

15.  Everything  that  openeth  the  womb  {3^^),  of  all  flesh'] 
In  contrast  to  the  precision  of  the  earlier  laws  (Ex,  i3i2f.  is 
34^^'-,  Dt.  15^^),  this  general  term  is  not  subsequently  limited 
by  any  direct  statement  to  males  either  here  or  in  Ex.  13* 
(P).  Some,*  therefore,  have  inferred  that  P  required  all  first- 
born, whether  male  or  female,  to  be  redeemed.  If  this  be 
correct,  the  divergence  from  earlier  usage  would  be  another 
instance  of  the  increasing  demands  of  the  priests :  but  the 
inference  is  open  to  some  doubt ;  for  in  3*0-^1  (P)  the  male 
firstborn  only  are  considered,  and  the  redemption  price  here 
fixed  (v.^^)  is  the  value  of  a  male  between  a  month  and  five 
years  of  age,  but  in  excess  of  the  value  of  a  woman  of 
the  same  age  (Lev.  27^). — Only  for  the  firstborn  of  mayi  thou 
shall  receive  a  redemption  price]  the  subj.,  as  throughout 
*  Kue.  Hex,  30 ;  Nowack,  Arch.  ii.  255. 


XVIII.  15-17  231 

the  section,  Is  Aaron,  the  representative  of  the  priests ;  but 
since  the  priests  receive  the  price,  the  vb.  mD,  if  correctly 
pointed,  is  here  used  exceptionally  of  receiving  the  price 
of  redemption  ;  so  in  v.^^'-. — 15b.  Ct.  Ex.  13^^  (JE),  and  see 
small  print  n.  above. — 16.  Cp.  3'*'^  n. — And  its  redemption  price\ 
On  the  meaning  of  the  term  Qms,  see  3*^  phil.  n.  The  sing-, 
pronominal  suffix  here  refers  to  the  sing-,  collective  term 
("1133  "firstborn")  In  v.^^.  Grammatically,  it  should  at  least 
include  a  reference  to  the  last  clause  of  v.^^,  whence  it  would 
follow  that  every  firstborn  of  unclean  animals  as  well  as  of 
men,  was  to  be  redeemed  at  five  shekels.  The  redemption 
price  for  male  children  is  fixed  elsewhere  also  at  five  shekels 
(3*'^,  Lev.  27^) ;  but  that  of  unclean  animals  appears  to  have 
been,  as  we  should  naturally  suppose  it  was,  variable  (Lev. 
27^"- 27).  It  Is  unlikely,  therefore,  that  the  present  law  was 
actually  Intended  to  fix  the  same  price  for  firstborn  of  men  and 
firstborn  of  unclean  cattle.  Possibly  v.^^''  has  been  trans- 
ferred by  accident  to  its  present  position  from  the  end  of  v.^^, 
or  unreflectingly  placed  where  it  now  stands  by  an  editor, 
or,  with  Di.,  we  may  suppose  v.^^  a  later  insertion. — From 
a  month  old]  i.e.  immediately  after  attaining  the  age  of  a 
month,  and  so,  virtually,  at  a  month  old.  Any  age  from  a 
month  upwards  Is  differently  expressed;  see  3**'.  For  illus- 
trations of  the  present  use  of  the  p,  see  BDB.  s.v.  p  a^h. 
The  age  at  which  children  were  redeemed  Is  not  stated  in  the 
earlier  codes.  The  firstborn  of  oxen  and  small  cattle  were,  by 
early  custom,  given  to  Yahweh  on  the  eighth  day  (Ex.  22^9) 
from  birth,  the  same  day  on  which  children  were  circumcised ; 
at  a  later  period  (Dt.  15^"),  within  a  year  from  birth  (Dt.  15^°). 
— 17.  The  firstborn  of  cattle,  of  sheep,  or  goats  Is  treated,  so 
far  as  the  blood  and  the  fat  is  concerned,  in  the  same  way  as 
when  one  of  these  animals  Is  presented  as  a  peace-ofTering 
(Lev.  3^"^),  i.e.  the  fat  is  burnt  on  the  altar  and  the  blood 
poured  or  tossed  in  full  volume  against  the  altar.  RV.,  as 
usual,  erroneously  renders  piT  by  "sprinkle,"  and  so  confuses 
the  term  with  the  entirely  different  ntn.  But  \\\q  flesh  of  the 
firstborn  is  treated  differently  from  that  of  the  peace-offering ; 
for,  whereas  the  greater  part  of  the  peace-offering  could  be 


232  NUMBERS 

eaten  by  any  one  ceremonially  clean  (Lev.  7^^^^),  the  whole  of 
the  flesh  of  the  firstborn,  like  the  right  thigh  and  the  breast  of 
a  peace-offering,  is  to  be  given  over  to  the  priests  for  consump- 
tion.— Thine  (Aaron's)  shall  their  flesh  he  as  the  wave-breast, 
etc.]  cp.  Lev.  720-31  ^nd  v. ^^  with  n.  above. — 19.  A  summary  of 
the  preceding  vv. ;  cp.  v.^. — A  covenant  of  salt\  cp.  **  Yahweh 
.  .  .  gave  the  kingdom  ...  to  David  .  .  .  for  ever  ...  by 
a  covenant  of  salt"  (2  Ch.  13^).  The  phrase  means  an  inviol- 
able covenant.  Its  origin  is  probably  to  be  sought  in  old 
nomadic  custom,  whereby  a  bond  was  established  between 
those  who  had  shared  the  same  food.  The  principle  is,  "If 
I  have  eaten  the  smallest  morsel  of  food  with  a  man,  I  have 
nothing  further  to  fear  from  him  ;  '  there  is  salt  between  us,' 
and  he  is  bound  not  only  to  do  me  no  harm,  but  to  help  and 
defend  me  as  if  I  were  his  brother."*  The  root  ?««/a-^a  in 
Arabic  means  *'  to  salt,"  a  derivative  milhat,  **  a  treaty  "  ;  and 
the  sacred  character  of  salt  is  recognised  in  a  line  cited  from 
El-A'sha  (Kitab  el-'Agani,  xx.  139,  28),  "I  swear  by  the  salt 
and  the  ashes  and  Ozza  and  Lit."  Salt  was  mingled  with  all 
Hebrew  sacrifices  (Lev.  2^^,  Mk.  9^® :  cp.  in  reference  to  par- 
ticular species.  Lev.  24'^ffir;  Ezek.  43^^;  Jos.  ^»/.iii.9^;  Z^bahim 
vi.  5)  and  with  the  holy  incense  (Ex.  30^),  and  continued 
perhaps  to  symbolise  the  inviolability  of  Yahweh's  covenant 
with  Israel. — 20.  Thou  shall  not  inherit  in  their  land]  Aaron  is 
addressed  as  representative  of  the  priests;  Aaron  can,  it  is 
true,  be  chosen  to  represent  the  whole  tribe  of  Levi  {ly^^^-  ^^^•^) ; 
but  here  at  the  close  of  the  section  dealing  with  dues  to  the 
priests  (v.^^^^),  and  before  the  section  dealing  with  the  Levites 
(v.21-2*),  Aaron  must  be  interpreted  in  the  narrower  sense,  for 
which  "Aaron  and  his  sons"  is  often,  but  not  exclusively 
(cp.  v.^^  3^-^  n.),  used.  In  v.^^^-  exclusion  from  inheritance  in 
the  land  of  Canaan  is  extended  to  the  Levites,  to  whom  the 
tithes  are  assigned  in  compensation  as  the  sacred  offerings 
are  here  assigned  to  the  priests.  Unlike  the  rest  of  Israel, 
then,  priests  and  Levites  receive  no  landed  inheritance  in 
Canaan,  but  certain  sacred  dues  instead ;    a   corresponding 

*  W.   R.  Smith,  jRel.  of  the   Semites^,   252,  ^2'jo;   cp.  We.  Rcsie  des 
Arab.  Heid.  124. 


XVIII   19-21  2;^2 

theory  is  found  In  Deuteronomy  (Dt.  lo'  12^2  j^27.  29  jg2^  Jq^^ 
j^ii.  33  jgT^  j^nd  Ezekiel  (44^^).  But,  strictly  speaking,  the 
present  theory  is  inconsistent  with  the  alleged  assignment  of 
forty-eight  cities  to  the  priests  and  Levites  in  other,  presum- 
ably later,  passages  of  P  (Jos.  21,  Nu.  35^"®).  Passages  in  P 
agreeing  with  the  present  are  26^^,  Jos.  14^ — I  am  thy  portion 
and  thy  inheritance  in  the  midst  of  the  children  of  Israel\  i.e. 
the  priests  are  to  live  by  means  of  the  sacred  gifts  of  the 
Israelites,  which  are  handed  over  by  Yahweh  to  the  priests 
(v.^).  Cp.  "  Yahweh  is  his  inheritance  "  (Dt.  10^) ;  but  observe 
that  there  and  in  other  passages  of  D  (Dt.  i8^  Jos.  1314- saj 
this  statement  extends  to  the  whole  of  the  Levites,  and  is  not 
limited,  as  here,  to  the  priests ;  see  Driver's  n.  on  Dt.  lo®. 

8.  nij-.f'c]  =  "portion"  :  cp.  r\nx^Ti  Lev.  7^'  and  the  Targumic  nji^  and 
»<;7yp=" a  measure";  Syr,  oo,  ■  V)  =  " to  measure " ;  |_kk^q1d  (note  the 
justification  for  the  o  in  nnB'D)="a  measure";  An  massdJi—'' a.  geome- 
trician"; Assyr.  OT«3f/'§^M  =  "  measure."  It  is  very  questionable  whether 
nB'a="to  measure"  has  any  connection  with  nE'D="to  anoint,"  or  the 
meaning  "consecrated  portion,"  given  to  nriiJ'D  in  BDB.,  any  justification  ; 
cp.  Fried.  Delitzsch,  Proleg.  p.  178  n.  i  ;  Weinel  in  ZATW.  1S98,  p.  13. — 
D'nm]  The  suffix  refers  to  'nmn  (Dav.  i,  R.  3  ;  G.-K.  1350)  or  'cip  ;  these, 
as  distinct  from  the  mDcj-o  of  them,  are  only  given  under  conditions  which 
are  subsequently  more  closely  defined. — TJ^'ji]  ffi  <S  +  ~nx  (cp.  v."  PJ). — 
9,  vypa\  S  'B'npn  ;  cp.  ©. — 10.  wn]  ffi  +  ci)  koX  ol  viol  (xov. — 15.  ^'fi^vi]  v.^*-  "  ; 
we  must  either  assume  a  sense  for  the  Kal  here  which  it  nowhere  else 
possesses,  or  point  nijcFi ;  cp.  Ex.  21^.  The  use  of  the  inf.  abs.  Kal  in  v.^' 
is  not  conclusive  against  the  latter  ;  see  G.-K.  1 13W. — 17.  p^l  and  wn  are 
already  correctly  distinguished  in  Speakers  Comm.  ii.  499^. 

21-24.  The  Levites'  dues. — In  return  for  their  service  about 
the  tent,  and  in  lieu  of  any  tribal  possession  of  land,  the  Levites 
are  to  receive  the  tithes  offered  by  the  Israelites  to  Yahweh. 

21.  But  to  the  children  of  Levi]  exclusive  of  the  priests  : 
cp.  the  similar  usage  of  "  tribe  of  Levi  "  in  v.-.  As  contrasted 
with  the  different  subject  (Aaron  and  the  priests)  of  the  last 
v.,  the  clause  is  placed  first  for  emphasis.  —  Every  tithe] 
According  to  Lev.  27^''"^^  tithe  was  taken  on  both  cattle 
and  crops;  but  Dt.  (14^2-29  26^2-15^  refers  only  to  a  tithe  on 
crops  ;  and  in  the  present  chapter  the  tithe  seems  to  be  simi- 
larly limited  (cp.  v. 2'^-  ^o).  A  royal  tithe  on  cattle  is  alluded  to 
in  I  S.  8^'^,  but  of  a  tithe  on  cattle  to  be  paid  to  the  Levites 


2  34  NUMBERS 

we  find  no  trace  in  OT.  except  in  2  Ch.  31",  Lev.  27^°"^^;  cp. 
Jubilees  32^^.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  full  list  of  dues  given 
in  Neh.  jo^^-ss  (35-37)^  ^j^g  tithe  paid  to  the  Levites  is  defined 
as  "the  tithe  of  our  ground "  (IJDDIX  ICTD),  Le.  a  tithe  on 
the  crops;  cp.  Neh.  13^-^2.  Probably,  then,  the  claim  to  a 
tithe  on  cattle  was  first  put  forward  between  the  time  of  the 
P^  and  that  of  P^  or  Ch.,  at  some  time  between  the  5th  and 
3rd  centuries  B.C.  Even  then  the  claim  appears  to  have  met 
with  but  very  partial  response  (Driver,  Deut.  p.  169  f.).  In 
respect,  then,  of  the  substances  on  which  tithe  was  levied  the 
present  passage  agrees  with  D  and  disagrees  with  P';  it  is  a 
tithe  on  agricultural  produce.  On  the  other  hand,  as  to  the 
disposal  of  the  tithe,  P  is  here  at  the  same  serious  disagree- 
ment with  Dt.  (1422-29  2612-15^  cp.  1217-19)  as  in  the  matter  of 
the  disposal  of  the  firstborn  of  clean  cattle  (above,  p.  230). 
In  Dt.,  in  two  years  out  of  three,  the  Levite  was  simply  called 
to  share  with  the  offerer  and  his  household  in  the  sacred  meal 
for  which  the  tithe  was  used;  in  the  third  year  the  tithe  was 
withdrawn  from  the  enjoyment  of  the  landowner  and  given  to 
the  Levites  in  common  isoith  other  needy  classes,  the  genm 
(iS^^n.),  the  widows  and  the  fatherless.  According  to  this  law 
the  tithe  became  the  sole  property  of  the  Levites,  from  which 
they  were  compelled  to  contribute  a  tenth  to  the  priests  (v.2^). 
The  completely  different  character  of  the  tithe  of  Dt.  and  P 
was  early  perceived,  and  led  to  the  institution  of  the  "second 
tithe"  (above,  p.  228).  But  the  institution  of  two  tithes — 
one  payable  in  toto  to  the  Levites,  the  other  intended  to  form 
a  sacred  meal  for  laymen  and  Levites — is  not  recognised  by 
this  law,  which  demands  every  tithe  for  the  Levites  ;  for  proof 
that  two  tithes  were  also  not  required  by  (nor  indeed  known 
to)  D,  and  for  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  subject  of  tithe  gene- 
rally, see  Driver,  Dejit.  168-173. — 22.  The  service  of  the 
Levites,  in  return  for  which  they  are  to  receive  the  tithes,  is 
required  in  order  to  prevent  the  Israelites  from  again  incurring 
such  fatal  results  of  the  divine  anger  at  their  approach  to  the 
tent  of  meeting  as  they  had  recently  experienced,  1711^-  28  (i6^*^'^- 
17^^):  cp.  1 52  8^^. — 23.  They  shall  bear  their  iniqtiity\  be  re- 
sponsible for  and  suffer  the  consequences  of  any  guilt  they  may 


XVIII.  22-29  235 

Incur  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties ;  cp.  v.-  n.  By  Ezekiel 
(44^*^)  the  same  phrase  is  used  in  the  very  different  sense  of 
paying-  the  penalty  for  guilt  actually  incurred.  The  difference 
in  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  illustrates  a  fundamental  differ- 
ence of  attitude  towards  the  Levites  on  the  part  of  Ezekiel  and 
P  respectively  :  in  Ezekiel  the  Levites  are  a  class  degraded 
from  the  priesthood  in  consequence  of  their  guilt  (Ezek. 
44I0-16J .  in  ps  they  are  a  class  chosen  of  Yahweh  to  a  position 
of  honour  and  distinction,  though  of  less  honour,  and,  there- 
fore, of  less  responsibility,  than  that  of  the  priests  ;  see  above, 
p.  22;  and,  further,  Kuenen  in  T/t.  Tijd.  xii.  150  f.;  We.  Comp. 
340  f. — 24.  The  tithe  .  .  .  vv^hich  they  contribute  as  a  con- 
tribution] 5®  n. 

21.  f^n]  here  and  v."  only  in  OT. ;  cp.  f^n  and  .c^X  »..)  which  are  the 
regular  equivalents  in  ST  and  S  respectively  for  nnn  in  pj. — 23.  Nin]  the 
addition  of  the  pr.  gives  emphasis  to  'i'?n  in  antithesis  to  'jNnc"  'J3  (v.^^) : 
cp.  35^^  ;  Kon.  iii.  340^. — en]  the  pi.  pr.  referring  to  the  collect,  gentilic 
noun  'iSn,  Kon.  iii.  346/. — The  variations  'i'?  '33  (v.^'),  ^^hn  (v.^),  wh  (v.-'*)  in 
this  short  section  are  worthy  of  observation  ;  cp.  4^**  ^  n. 

25-32.  A  tithe  of  the  tithe  is  payable  by  the  Levites  to  the 
priests. — The  section  is  supplemental  to  v.^~^^,  but  necessarily 
follows  v.^^~2^.  The  tithe  of  the  tithes  is  referred  to  In  Neh. 
jq39(38)^ — And  Yahweh  spake  to  Moses,  saving]  ct.  v.^-^--*'. 
This  change,  together  with  "the  curious  opening  [v.-*^]  'and 
to  the  Levites  thou  shalt  speak  and  say,'  etc.,  implying  some 
previous  utterance,"  has  suggested  to  CH.  that  we  have  here 
an  incorporation  of  fresh  material. — 27  f.  The  Levites,  as  well 
as  the  rest  of  Israel  (note  Dnx  DJ  v. 2^),  are  to  make  a  ' '  contribu- 
tion "  to  Yahweh.  As  the  Israelites  set  aside  a  part  of  the  new 
produce  of  the  year,  of  the  corn  sifted  on  their  threshing-floors 
and  the  wine  that  fills  their  vats,  so  the  Levites  are  to  set  aside 
for  Yahweh  a  tithe  of  what  they  receive  in  tithe  from  the  rest 
of  the  Israelites ;  and  (v.^°^-)  as  the  latter,  once  having  paid 
their  sacred  dues,  enjoy  the  rest  of  the  produce  of  their  fields 
where  and  as  they  please,  so  the  Levites  may  consume  the 
remaining  nine-tenths  of  the  tithe  with  like  freedom. — 27.  The 
fulness]  an  old  term  for  the  new  produce  of  the  year;  see  Ex. 
2223(29)  anjj   above,  p.   226  f. — 29,    Of  all  your  gifts  [i.e.  the 


236  NUMBERS 

tithes)  ye  shall  contribute  the  whole  of  the  contrihutioti  due  to 
Yalrjoeh,  (to  wit)  the  hallowed  part  thereof^  (selecting  it)  from 
the  best  part  thereof.  The  tithe  of  the  tithe  is  to  be  given  in 
full,  and  to  consist  of  the  best  part  (l3?n ;  cp.  v.^^  n.)  of  the 
tithe. — 30  f.  See  on  v.^-'f-. — 31.  The  tithe,  not  consisting,  like 
the  dues  payable  to  the  priests,  of  holy  things,  may  be  eaten 
anywhere ;  ct.  v.^". — 32.  If  the  Levites  duly  pay  the  tithe  of 
the  tithe  they  will  bear  no  sin  on  account  of  it',  cp.  Lev.  19^'^ 
22*.  The  meaning  of  the  last  half  of  the  v.  is  not  too  clear  ; 
the  tithe  apparently  was  not  one  of  the  holy  things  of  the 
children  of  Israel  within  the  meaning  of  the  chapter ;  more- 
over, the  position  of  the  phrase  in  Hebrew  suggests  that  it 
refers  to  something  other  than  what  has  been  mentioned 
in  the  previous  sentence.  Probably,  therefore,  it  is  a  warning 
that  the  Levites  are  to  be  content  with  their  tithes  and  not 
profane,  by  consuming,  what  might  only  be  eaten  by  the 
priests. 

26.  DDnVma]  BDB.  s.v.  ?  i.  7^— 29.  rDiin  Si\  Some  Heb.  MSS.  and  G 
om.  '?3  (cp.  v.^  |t]). — iJOD  .  .  .  isnpD  .  .  .  u'jn]  the  suffixes  refer  to  Va  at 
the  beginning- of  the  v.;  Kon.  iii.  306a. — i»^i?p]  see  10'^  n.  The  abnormal 
punctuation  may  be  intended  as  a  warning  that  the  word  has  not  its  usual 
meaning  of  "sanctuary":  cp.  Kon.  ii.  97.  BDB.  (S74a)  propose  i^llj 
here.  But  it  is  possible  that  the  whole  clause  is  corrupt ;  as  an  apposition 
to  the  clause  next  but  one  before  it,  it  is  strangely  placed. — 30.  Xi'"h'i\  5J 
vobis,  which  Paterson  thinks  original. 

The  i8th  chapter  of  Numbers,  when  compared  with 
other  passages  dealing  with  the  priestly  or  Levitical  dues, 
forms  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  Jewish 
priesthood. 

The  salient  fact  is  this :  the  dues  here  assigned  to  the 
tribe  of  Levi  are  immensely  more  valuable  than  those  which 
are  assigned,  by  direct  statement  or  implication,  to  the  Levites 
in  Dt.  or  any  pre-exilic  literature ;  and  considerably  more 
valuable  than  those  required,  for  the  priests,  by  Ezekiel. 
They  are  less  valuable  than  those  required  in  the  Mishnah, 
and,  in  one  respect,  than  those  required  in  Lev.  2'j^^-^  (P"). 

It  is  possible  in  the  abstract  to  suppose  that  this  chapter 
contains  the  most  ancient  priestly  claim,  that  that  claim  could 
not  be  made   good,   and   that,   therefore,  the  Deuteronomic 


XVIII.  30-32  237 

legislators  demanded  only  the  smaller  dues  which  it  had 
become  the  custom  to  pay,  and  that,  half  a  century  later, 
Ezekiel  reasserted,  to  a  g^reat  extent,  the  more  ancient  claim. 
On  this  assumption,  Nu.  i8  might  be  regarded  as  earlier  in 
date  than  Dt.  or  Ezek.,  and  as  containing  a  programme  of 
claims  which  the  priests  would  like  to  have  made  good  if  they 
could.  But  this  is  an  improbable  hypothesis  :  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  practice  of  the  pre-exilic  period,  so  far  as  it  may  be 
gathered  from  notices  scattered  through  the  early  literature, 
though  it  corresponds  somewhat  closely  with  the  laws  in  Dt., 
differs  widely  from  the  regulations  of  Nu.  i8,  with  which ,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  practice  of  the  post-exilic  age  is  infiinda- 
me?ital  agreement.  The  most  natural  conclusion  from  this 
fact  is  that  Nu.  18  is  a  regulation  later  in  date  than  Dt. 
This  conclusion  is  greatly  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  there 
is  a  similar  agreement  in  a  number  of  other  matters  between 
the  regulations  of  P  and  the  practice  of  the  post-exilic  age 
(Kue.  Hex.  §  11). 

At  all  periods  sacrifices  consisted  of  two  great  classes : 
those  of  the  one  class  (n^y,  7^73)  were  withheld  from  human 
consumption  and,  being  made  over  wholly  to  the  deity,  were 
consumed  by  the  altar  fire  or  ultimately  given  to  the  priest ; 
those  of  the  other  class  formed  the  substance  of  a  sacrificial 
meal  in  which  the  offerer,  his  family,  and  those  who  might  be 
associated  with  him,  participated.*  It  was  sacrifices  of  the 
latter  class  that  formed  the  prominent  feature  in  early  Hebrew 
life  :  sacrifices  were  festal  occasions  which  the  people  were 
very  ready  to  multiply  (cp.  e.g.  Ex.  32^^-,  i  S.  i^-  ^^^^-  i6^~^^. 
Am.  4*,  Hos.  8^^) ;  this  continued  to  be  the  case  at  least 
as  late  as  Joslah's  reformation,  for  in  Dt.  the  phrases  "to 
sacrifice,"  "to  eat  before  Yahweh,"  and  "to  rejoice,"  are 
virtually  synonymous  (Dt.  12.  16  passim).  In  these  sacrificial 
feasts  the  Levites,  or  priests  of  the  time,  used  to  be  invited 
to  take  a  share  (above,  pp.  230,  234). 

But  mere  participation  in  sacrificial  meals  was  an  inade- 
quate means  of  support  for  a  class  of  men.  And,  apart  from 
any  income  that  may  have  accrued  to  them  as  arbitrators, 
*  Cp.  Jos.  Anl.  iii.  9^ 


238  NUMBERS 

some,  at  least,  of  the  priests  appear  at  a  quite  early  period  tc 
have  laid  claim,  and  to  some  extent  to  have  substantiated 
their  claim,  to  more  fixed  sources  of  income. 

At  the  famous  shrine  of  Shiloh,  as  we  learn  from  a  narrative 
(i  S.  2^-"^^)  probably  as  old  as  the  8th  cent.  B.C.,  the  priests 
sent  their  servants  to  remove  portions  from  the  pot  in  which 
the  sacrificial  flesh  was  boiling-.  This  is  regarded  in  the  story 
as  a  comparative  innovation ;  yet  it  was  tolerated ;  what 
roused  opposition  and  ill-feeling-  was  the  claim  of  the  priests  to 
parts  of  the  raw  flesh. 

But  long  before  the  close  ot  the  7th  cent,  this  claim  must 
have  been  decided  in  favour  of  the  priests.  Dt.  (18^)  lays 
down  that  certain  fixed  parts  of  every  head  of  oxen  or  small 
cattle  offered  as  a  sacrifice  (of  peace-off"erings)  must  be  given 
to  the  priests. 

The  "holy  bread,"  referred  to  in  i  S.  21^^-,  though  not 
invariably,  was  probably,  as  a  g-eneral  rule,  consumed  by  the 
priests.  A  passage  in  2  K  23^  referring  to  the  consumption 
of  unleavened  bread  by  the  priests  of  the  high  places  after  the 
suppression  of  these  latter  is  obscure. 

Apart  from  these  sacrificial  portions,  the  priests  at  Jeru- 
salem must  have  derived  some  income  from  the  "money  for 
guilt"  and  "the  money  for  sin"  (DEJ'S  S]DD  and  nxDH  5)03) 
which  are  referred  to  in  2  K.  12^'' ^^^\  but  unfortunately  in  so 
brief  a  manner  as  to  leave  us  in  doubt  as  to  its  exact  nature 
or  extent  (cp.  Nowack,  Arch.  ii.  226). 

In  Dt.  18*  the  "first"  (iTU^xi)  of  corn,  wine,  oil,  and  fleece 
is  a  due  to  the  priests. 

These  pre-exilic  references  do  not  suffice  to  give  us  a  com- 
plete account  of  what  the  priests  received.  Dues  to  which  we 
find  no  reference  may  have  been  paid  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  should  not  be  justified  in  putting  all  the  few  refer- 
ences that  do  exist  together,  and  inferring  that  the  sources 
of  income  so  mentioned  formed  part  of  a  contribution 
regularly  made  to  all  priests  from  the  time  of  David  to 
Josiah.  Manifestly,  the  priests  at  Jerusalem  may  have 
obtained  payments  that  priests  at  less  important  sanctuaries 
failed   to  secure ;    and   the   particular   portions   of  sacrifices 


XVIII.  239 

which  gradually  became  fixed  dues  may  have  differed  at 
dififerent  sanctuaries. 

And,  ag-ain,  in  attempting-  to  form  a  conception  of  the 
income  of  the  priests  before  the  Exile,  two  facts  must  be  borne 
in  mind,  (i)  That  the  form  of  sacrifice  prominent  alike  in 
pre-exilic  narratives  and  codes,  and  presumably,  therefore,  in 
the  life  of  the  people,  was  that  in  which  the  bulk  of  the  sacri- 
ficial flesh  was  eaten  by  the  offerer  and  his  friends.  (2)  That 
the  early  literature,  though  it  is  acquainted  with  the  rarer 
practice  whereby  certain  victims  were  altogether  removed 
from  use  as  food  and  made  over  entire  to  the  deity,  says 
nothing  of  victims  removed  from  use  as  food  by  the  offerer, 
but  handed  over  for  consumption  by  the  priest. 

Turning  now  to  sources  of  priestly  income  alluded  to  in 
Nu.  18  and  actually  paid  after  the  Exile,  we  find  that  some 
are  simply  not  mentioned  before  the  Exile  ;  it  is  possible, 
therefore,  that  even  then  the  priests  received  them.  Others 
are  there  mentioned,  but  they  are  assigned  for  entirely  different 
purposes ;  these,  therefore,  had  not  always  contributed  to  the 
support  of  the  priests.     The  dues  in  P  include — 

(i)  All  meal-offerings;  all  sin-offerings  ;  all  guilt-offerings 
(cp.  Ecclus.  7^^).  The  assignment  of  these  to  the  priests  is 
required  by  Ezekicl  (44-^),  but  is  previously  unknown.  The 
germ  of  the  law  may,  however,  be  seen  in  (a)  i  S.  2i^~^;  the 
bread  was  not  necessarily  eaten  by  the  priests  only  ;  but  they 
might  more  readily  preserve  that  ceremonial  cleanness  which 
was  required  when  eating  it;  (d)  2  K.  12^'^^^'^^:  the  fines — as 
they  appear  to  have  been — may  have  been  paid  for  errors 
committed  at  the  sanctuary ;  with  the  increasing  sense  of  the 
necessity  of  offerings  for  sin,  offerings  took  the  place,  as  also 
the  names,  of  these  fines.  The  sin-offering  and  the  guilt- 
offering  are  first  referred  to  by  Ezekiel,  though  they  must,  it 
would  appear  from  his  mode  of  reference  to  them,  have  arisen 
before  he  wrote — possibly  between  the  time  of  Josiah's 
reformation  and  the  Exile  (cp.  Nowack,  ii.  225  ff.).  Owing  to 
the  extreme  frequency  of  these  offerings  in  the  later  ritual, 
they  constituted  in  themselves  a  very  large  revenue  in  kind ; 
apart    from    the   sacrifices   required  at    frequently-recurring 


240  NUMBERS 

public  solemnities  (see,  e.g.^  c.  28  f.),  sin-  or  g'uilt-offering's 
from  private  persons  must  have  been  offered  daily,  since  they 
were  required  from  women  after  childbirth  (Lev.  12^"^),  for 
touching  an  unclean  thing,  and  for  other  frequent  occurrences 
(Lev.  5).  Lev.  4,  which  withdraws  certain  sin-offerings  from 
priestly  consumption,  appears  to  belong  to  P\  But  even  so, 
the  amount  of  flesh  falling  to  the  priests  must  have  been  more 
than  they  could  well  consume  (cp.  Nowack,  Arch.  ii.  234). 
Even  if  the  question  of  the  disposition  of  these  offerings 
before  the  Exile  were  left  an  open  question,  the  far  greater 
frequency  of  them  after  the  Exile  would  account  for  a  very 
considerable  increase  in  the  income  of  the  priests. 

(2)  Herem.  The  demand  that  all  "devoted  things"  should 
be  given  to  the  priests  is  not  mentioned  before  Ezekiel.  The 
value  of  this  due  is  uncertain  ;  see  on  v.^*. 

(3)  First-fruits  and  tithes  (on  vegetable  produce).  These 
dues  were  among  the  most  valuable  paid  to  the  priests  after 
the  Exile.  First-fruits  and  tithes  were  withdrawn  from  ordi- 
nary private  use  before  the  Exile,  but  the  part  of  the  priest 
in  them  was  small ;  for  details,  see  above  on  v.^^f.  21^ 

(4)  Firstborn.  This  included  a  payment  to  the  priests  of 
five  shekels  (about  12s.)  on  every  (male)  firstborn  child,  a 
payment  for  all  firstborn  of  unclean  animals,  and  the  assign- 
ment to  them  of  all  firstborn  of  clean  cattle.  Before  the 
Exile  the  priests  received  little  or  nothing  of  this  valuable  due ; 
see  above  on  v.^°. 

(5)  Fixed  portions  of  the  peace-offerings.  This,  the  least 
valuable  due  in  the  list,  probably  constituted  the  main  per- 
quisite of  the  earlier  priests.  Even  here  P  (Lev.  732-34^  requires 
more  than  D  (18^). 

(6)  A  number  of  dues  mentioned  in  P  are  not  mentioned  in 
this  c. :  some,  such  as  the  skin  of  the  burnt-offering,  prob- 
ably because  they  are  of  a  different  nature  from  those  which 
are  here  included,  but  others  more  probably  because  they  are 
later  in  origin  than  P^ ;  such  are  the  tithe  on  cattle  (see  on 
v.^^)  and  the  Levitical  cities  (c.  35). 

These  sources  of  priestly  income,  which  are  not  distinctly 
specified  in  the  present  c,  though  some  may  be  covered  by  its 


XIX.  241 

general  terms,  are  the  skin  of  the  burnt-offering  (Lev.  7^), 
the  shewbread  (Lev.  24^"''),  amounts  paid  in  compensation 
for  fraud  in  cases  in  which  no  representative  of  the  defrauded 
person  exists  (Nu.  5^),  certain  similar  payments  (Lev.  5^^  22^^), 
unredeemed  fields  (Lev.  27^^),  and  certain  specially  large  dues 
for  regular  offerings  in  specific  cases  {e.g.  Nu.  G-^^-). 

Scribal  ingenuity  in  the  attempt  to  reconcile  the  irreconcil- 
able still  further  increased  the  priestly  exactions  ;  see  above, 
p.  234. 

Literature  on  the  subject  of  the  Priestly  dues  and  their  history. — We. 
Proleg.  149-166  (Eng-.  tr.  152-167) ;  Kue.  Hex.  31-33,  198-201  ;  Baudissin, 
Priesterthimi,  39-43,  86-88,  122-127  >  Schiirer,^  ii.  243-262  (Eng-.  tr.  II. 
i.  230-254) ;  Nowack,  Arch.  ii.  125-129  ;  Di.  (on  this  c.  and  also)  Exodus 
u.  Leviticus,  634  fF.;  Driver,  Deut.  168-173,  186  f.,  213-221,  290;  van 
Hoonacker,  Le  Sacerdoce  Ldvitique,  383-435  (mainly  harmonistic  in  its 
treatment). 

XIX.   Purification  from  Uncleanness  by  the  Dead. 

Literature. — Spencer,  De  Legibus  Hebrceoruvt  Ritualibus,  bk.  ii.  c. 
26  ;  Mishnah,  tractates  Ohaloth  and  Parah  :  Midrash  Rabba  (ed.  Berlin), 
vol.  iv.  folio  nya;  Bahr,  Symbolik,  ii.  493-511  ;  Winer,  Biblisches  Real- 
Wurterbuch,  ii.  504-506;  Nowack, /I r^rA.  ii.  287-290;  Kennedy's  art.  "Red 
Heifer  "  in  Hastings'  DB.  ;  and  Simcox  in  EBi.  846  f. 

The  present  chapter,  like  c.  15,  though  it  clearly  belongs 
to  P,  has  no  intimate  connection  either  with  what  precedes 
(c.  16-18 — the  revolt  of  Korah)  or  with  what  follows  (c.  20 — 
the  arrival  at  Kadesh).  Unlike  c.  15,  it  is  devoted  to  a 
single  subject — pollution  through  contact  with  the  dead,  and 
its  removal  by  the  use  of  a  liquid  in  which  the  main  in- 
gredient consists  of  the  ashes  of  a  red  cow;  v.^~^^  deals 
mainly  with  the  method  of  purifying  those  polluted  ;  v.^^"^^ 
with  the  circumstances  under  which  the  pollution  is  con- 
tracted. 

The  actual  want  of  org^anic  connection  between  this  chapter  and  those 
that  follow  is  proved  rather  than  disproved  by  the  attempts  to  establish 
one  ;  the  law,  it  is  said,  is  placed  here  on  account  of  the  wholesale 
slaughter  that  followed  the  rebellion  of  Korah. 

Not  only  is  the  present  section  entirely  unrelated  to  the 
preceding  and  following,  it  is  also  separated  by  much  inter- 
16 


242  NUMBERS 

veningf  matter  from  that  part  of  the  Hexateuch  with  which 
it  is  in  subject  most  closely  connected — viz.  from  the  laws 
dealing  with  various  forms  of  ceremonial  uncleanness  (Lev. 
11-15);  and  that  although  uncleanness  from  the  dead  has 
been  frequently  referred  to,  or  discussed,  in  previous  parts  of 
the   Hexateuch,  Lev.  52    118.24-28  2ii-4.iof.    22^-7,  Nu.  52  6^-12 

Q6f.  lOf.^ 

The  present  law  is  presupposed  in  31^^24^  On  the  other 
hand,  the  method  of  purification  here  described  is  not  recog- 
nised in  the  case  of  the  polluted  Nazirite :  in  his  case  an 
entirely  different  method  is  followed ;  he  purifies  himself  by 
shaving  his  hair  and  making  certain  offerings,  6^~^^.  Lev. 
5^~^  requires  a  guilt-offering  from  one  who  has  unwittingly 
suffered  by  pollution  from  the  dead. 

The  reason  why  neither  of  these  laws  refers  to  the  "  water  of  unclean- 
ness "  may  be  that  they  presuppose  it,  and  refer  simply  to  the  special 
requirements  of  the  special  circumstances  with  which  they  respectively 
deal.  But  the  absence  of  allusion  to  it  in  Lev.  22*'^  (H)  ii^"*"^  is  more 
difficult  of  explanation  if  the  present  law  at  the  time  enjoyed  a  general 
sanction :  so  far  as  the  priests  are  concerned,  Lev.  22^"''  appears  to 
place  uncleanness  from  the  corpses  of  men  on  the  same  footing  as 
other  forms  of  uncleanness,  and  to  require  for  it,  as  for  them,  simply 
bathing  in  plain  water;  and  Lev.  n^^-^s  requires  nothing  more  than  this 
simpler  cleansing  in  the  case  of  any  man  defiled  by  the  carcase  of  an 
unclean  beast. 

Though,  therefore,  the  law  has  been  edited  in  the  priestly 
school,*  it  does  not  appear  to  have  formed  part  of  P^,  nor  to 
be  of  the  same  origin  as  the  laws  of  uncleanness  in  Lev. 
11-15,  nor,  perhaps,  of  the  same  origin  as  Nu.  6  or  Lev. 
5^"*.  That  it  is  younger  than  any  or  all  of  these  there  is  little 
or  no  positive  ground  for  saying ;  the  law  is  P"  rather  than 
P%  Least  of  all  can  the  absence  from  the  present  c.  of  any 
demand  for  offerings  on  restoration  to  cleanness  be  cited  in 
favour  of  a  late  origin  of  the  law. 

As  connecting  the  c.  with  P,  note,  amongst  other  things,  the  intro- 
ductory formula,  v.^  (CH.  185),  inp'i  "^NnB"  ':3  '?«  nan  v.-  (cp.  5^n.),  mv  v.^ 
(cp.  i^  n.),  and  the  numerous  ritual  terms.  On  the  other  hand,  phraseo- 
logical peculiarities  are,  in  addition  to  mj  'D  (only  again  in  31-^),  minn  npn 
v.^  (also  31-^  t),  \At.x\T\r\  —  to  tmsin  one  self,  v.^^-^^-^*  (alsoS'^^n.,  ^i^^^-"^-,  and 
in  a  different  sense  Job  41"  t)>  ciN  u's:  h^h  no  v.^^  (ct.  6^) ;  see  also  the  notes 


XIX.  243 

below  on  "Elc'azar  the  priest"  (v.'*),  "j'ns  TDs  (v."),  nxan  (v.^).  We.  and 
Kue.,  who  refer  the  whole  c.  to  P^  (cp.  Di.),  consider  v."'^  an  explana- 
tory addition  to  the  main  law.  CH.,  on  the  other  hand,  refer  v.^""  to 
Ps,  but  v."-22  to  P',  judging  the  latter  "less  like  an  addition  than  an 
independent  ordinance  on  a  similar  basis."  It  has  been  argued  that 
v.^'^  implies  that  the  polluted  man  sprinkles  himself,  v.^®  that  he  is 
sprinkled  by  another.  But  with  v."  cp.  v.***,  and  note  that  v.^*  (like 
v.^'')  implies  that  the  man  has  the  water  thrown  over  him  by  another : 
see  note  there. 

But  whatever  the  exact  age  of  the  literary  origin  of  the 
law,  the  belief  on  which  it  is  based  and  the  custom  which 
it  regulates  are  ancient  and  primitive.  Purification  from 
pollution  through  the  dead  by  the  use  of  the  ashes  of  the  red 
cow  is  but  one  of  many  primitive  or  popular  practices  which 
were  assimilated  and  regulated  by  the  later  priestly  religion 
and  described  by  its  writers  ;  such  were  the  bells  on  the  high 
priest's  cloke  (Ex.  28^^-^^),  the  water  of  bitterness  (Nu.  5""^^), 
the  goat  for  Azazel  (Lev.  16):  see  what  is  said  above,  pp. 
46-48.  The  belief  or  doctrine  underlying  the  law  and  the 
specific  regulations  here  enforced  are  not,  however,  necessarily 
of  the  same  origin  and  age.  The  doctrine  is  this — a  dead 
body  is  a  source  or  cause  of  pollution ;  and  this  doctrine  is 
both  ancient  and  widespread.  There  is  nothing  peculiarly 
Hebrew,  or  even  peculiarly  Semitic,  about  it. 

Thus  to  refer  to  some  parallel  practices  that  indicate  the  prevalence 
of  the  same  doctrine  :  "Among  the  Navajos  [of  North  America],  the  man 
who  has  been  deputed  to  carry  a  dead  body  to  burial,  holds  himself  un- 
clean until  he  has  thoroughly  washed  himself  in  water  prepared  for  the 
purpose  by  certain  ceremonies."  "  Among  the  Basutos  of  South  Africa, 
warriors  returning  from  battle  must  rid  themselves  of  the  blood  they  have 
shed.  .  .  .  Therefore  they  go  in  procession  ...  to  the  nearest  stream  to 
wash.  ...  It  is  usual  in  this  ceremony  for  a  sorcerer,  higher  up  the 
stream,  to  put  in  some  magical  ingredient,  such  as  he  also  uses  in  the 
preparation  of  the  holy  water  which  is  sprinkled  over  the  people  with  a 
beast's  tail  at  the  frequent  public  purifications."  "  The  Zulus  .  .  .  purify 
themselves  by  an  ablution  after  a  funeral."  "Tibetan  .  .  .  mourners 
returning  from  the  funeral  stand  before  the  fire,  wash  their  hands  with 
warm  water  over  the  hot  coals,  and  fumigate  themselves  thrice  with 
proper  formulas"  (Tylor,  Primitive  Culture,^  ii.  pp.  433  f.,  437;  cp. 
Frazer,  GB.  i.  322-325).  The  Madangs  of  Borneo,  after  depositing  the 
coffin,  pass  through  a  cleft  stick,  the  ends  of  which,  when  all  have  passed 
through,  are  tied  close  together  again.  Then  all  who  have  taken  part 
in  the  ceremony  bathe  before  returning  home,  and  rub  themselves 
with  rough  pebbles  (Hose  in  Geographical  Journal,  xvi.  45  f.).     The  fore- 


244  NUMBERS 

going  are  customs  that  have  come  under  modem  observation  ;  but  they 
prove  the  wide  prevalence — in  America,  Africa,  and  Asia — of  the  doctrine. 
The  classical  authors,  the  Zendavesta,  the  laws  of  Manu,  and  other 
ancient  Oriental  lawbooks  show  its  prevalence  among  the  ancient 
Romans,  Greeks,  Persians,  and  Indians.  For  Roman  practices,  cp. 
Virg.  ^n.  vi.  228-231 — 

Ossaque  lecta  cado  texit  Corynasus  aeno. 
Idem  ter  socios  pura  circumtulit  unda, 
Spargens  rore  levi  et  ramo  felicis  olivae, 
Lustra vitque  vires,  dixitque  novissima  verba ; 

and  ii.  717-720.  In  Greece  a  bowl  of  water  was  placed  before  the  door  of 
the  house  where  a  death  had  taken  place  that  persons  entering  the  house 
might  purify  themselves  with  it ;  after  the  funeral  the  house  was  purified  ; 
dead  bodies  were  excluded  from  sacred  enclosures,  and  contact  with  a 
dead  body  rendered  a  person  polluted  {fivcraplis)  and  unfit  to  approach  an 
altar  (Eur.  Ale.  98-100;  Iph.  in  Taur.  380-383;  Helen,  1430  f.  ;  Paus. 
ii.  27,  together  with  Frazer's  note  in  Pausanias  Descr.  of  Greece,  lii.  p. 
239).  In  India  a  death  renders  the  relatives  of  the  dead  man  unclean, 
whether  they  come  into  contact  with  him  or  not :  for  this  and  other 
matters  connected  with  the  Indian  doctrine  of  pollution  by  the  dead, 
see  Gautama,  c.  \i,^.=SBE,  ii.  p.  246 (T.  ;  Manu,  v.  57-104  =  55^'. 
XXV.  p.  177 ff.  ;  cp.  Oldenberg,  Die  Relig.  des  Veda,  pp.  577-591.  The 
doctrine  of  pollution  from  the  dead  is  peculiarly  influential  in  Zoroastri- 
anism,  and  is  seen  to  be  closely  connected  with  demonology ;  see 
VendidAd  (SBE.  iv.),  esp.  Fargards  v-xii ;  cp.  Sh&yast  Id  sh&yast,  c. 
ii.  (SBE,  V.  pp.  245-276),  and  Darmesteter's  introduction  to  the  VendidAd 
{SBE.  iv.  pp.  Ixxxv-xcv),  from  which  this  summary  of  the  doctrine 
maybe  cited — "Impurity  or  uncleanness  may  be  described  as  the  state 
of  a  person  or  thing  that  is  possessed  of  the  demon  :  and  the  object  of 
purification  is  to  expel  the  demon. 

The  principal  means  by  which  uncleanness  enters  man  is  death,  as 
death  is  the  triumph  of  the  demon. 

When  a  man  dies,  as  soon  as  the  soul  has  parted  from  the  body,  the 
Drug  Nasu  or  Corpse-Drug  falls  upon  the  dead  from  the  regions  of  hell, 
and  whoever  thenceforth  touches  the  corpse  becomes  unclean,  and  makes 
unclean  whomsoever  he  touches  "  (p.  Ixxxvi). 

For  other  illustrations  of  the  connection  between  uncleanness  from  the 
dead  and  the  belief  in  the  danger  to  the  living  from  the  spirits  of  the 
departed,  see  Frazer,  GB.  iii.  397-401. 

The  susceptibility  of  the  dead  body  to  the  attacks  of  demons  was  also 
held  by  the  Babylonians,  and,  with  them,  led  to  the  custom  of  purifying 
the  corpse  itself  (Jastrow,  Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  p.  602  f.); 
with  which  custom  we  may  compare  that  of  the  Aztecs  mentioned  by 
Tjlor  {Prim.  Culture,  ii.  p.  436). 

Clearly,  then,  there  is  nothing"  in  any  way  peculiar  to  the 
Hebrews  in  the  belief  that  a  dead  body  is  a  cause  of  pollution  ; 
and   consequently  the  origin  of  the   belief  and  the  original 


XIX.  245 

sigTiIficance  of  the  customs  must  be  sought  not  in  what  is 
peculiar  to  the  Hebrew  rehg-ion,  but  in  that  system — if  the 
term  may  be  used — of  primitive  thought  out  of  which  the 
higher  religions  and  the  Hebrew  among  them  sprang.  Con- 
sequently, too,  there  is  no  reason  for  thinking  that  the  belief 
was  borrowed  by  the  Hebrews ;  and,  indeed,  although  the 
present  law  and  other  references  in  the  Hexateuch  (Lev. 
ii3ifiE.39f.  2iiff-  H,  Nu.  52  6^  910  3ii9ff-  P,  Dt.  26^*)  to  the  sub- 
ject do  not  carry  us  further  back  than  the  7th  cent.  (Dt.  26^^), 
the  belief  is  unmistakably  referred  to  in  Hos.  9* ;  other 
references  outside  the  Hexateuch  are  Hag.  2^^,  Ezek.  44^^ ; 
cp.  2  K.  23^*.  In  none  of  these  passages  is  there  any  sugges- 
tion that  the  demonological  beliefs,  with  which  the  doctrine 
seems  to  have  been  originally  connected,  were  still  consciously 
held  by  the  Hebrews.  This  also  is  true  of  subsequent 
allusions:  see  Tob.  2^,  Ecclus.  31^"  (34^^)>  Bar.  3^^. 

When  we  turn  from  the  doctrine  to  the  specific  regula- 
tions of  this  law,  it  is  less  easy  to  establish  the  antiquity  of 
the  usage  in  Israel,  or  to  find  exact  parallels  to  it  elsewhere. 
Purification  in  some  form  is  naturally  as  ancient  and  general 
as  the  doctrine.  But  with  the  particular  means  of  purification 
here  decreed  it  is  different.  Generally  speaking,  ceremonial 
impurity  in  Israel,  as  among  many  other  peoples,  was  re- 
moved at  the  end  of  a  certain  period  after  the  impurity  was 
incurred  (sometimes  on  condition  of  the  discharge  of  certain 
other  regulations  also,  such  as  the  presentation  of  offerings), 
by  the  use  of  simple  water,  which  is  often,  however,  expressly 
required  to  be  "living,"  Le.  running,  and  not  stagnant  (cp. 
Lev.  13.  15).  And  this  mode  of  purification  appears  to  be 
regarded  in  some  of  the  laws  cited  above  as  sufficient  even 
in  the  case  of  pollution  from  the  dead.  The  peculiarity  of  the 
present  law  is  that  it  requires  this  purification  to  be  made  by 
means  of  water  which  has  been  mixed  with  the  ashes  of  a 
red  cow. 

Three  questions  naturally  arise,  though  they  can  be  but 
very  partially  answered,  (i)  What  is  the  history  of  the  use 
of  this  particular  mixture?  (2)  What  analogy  has  it  in 
Hebrew  ritual?      (3)  What  analogy  has  it  outside  Israel? 


246  NUMBERS 

(i)  As  to  the  history.  The  use  of  this  mixture  cannot  be 
actually  traced  further  back  than  this  law  ;  unless,  perchance, 
we  should  find  some  indirect  evidence  of  it  in  the  story  of 
the  people  being-  given  water  mixed  with  the  ashes  of  the 
g-olden  calf  to  drink  (Ex.  32^0  JE).*  Subsequent  allusions 
to  or  discussions  of  the  use  are  found  in  Heb.  9^^  and  the 
Mishnah.  The  influence  of  the  story  rather  than  of  the 
actual  practice  accounts  for  the  allusion  to  the  red  cow  in  the 
Koran  (ii.  63-68),  on  which  see  Geiger,  Was  hat  Muhammad 
aus  dem  Jiidenthum  genonimen,  p.  172. 

(2)  Water  specially  treated — with,  amongst  other  things, 
"cedar  wood,  scarlet,  and  hyssop,"  as  in  the  present  law 
(v.^)  is  employed  in  the  rite  of  cleansing  lepers  or  a  leprous 
house,  Lev.  i4«- ^9-52^  The  "bitter"  or  "holy  waters" 
employed  in  the  ordeal  of  jealousy  (s^^^")  afford  another 
parallel  to  the  imparting  of  special  virtues  to  water  by  adding 
to  it  ingredients.  Once,  again,  the  origin  of  such  prepara- 
tions is  not  to  be  sought  in  anything  peculiar  to  Hebrew 
religion.  These  medicated  waters  are  mere  survivals  from 
primitive  practice,  or  the  result  of  borrowing'  on  the  part  ot 
the  Hebrews  at  a  late  period.     For 

(3)  Analogies,  more  or  less  close,  are  to  be  found  outside 
Israel.  Passing"  over  remoter  parallels,  some  of  which  will 
be  found  in  the  customs  cited  above,  it  must  suffice  to  call 
attention  here  to  the  use  of  the  cow  in  lustration. 

So  far  as  the  present  writer  is  aware,  this  is,  apart  from 
the  Hebrew  rite  under  discussion,  confined  to  the  Arians.f 
It  is  peculiarly  common  in  the  Zendavesta,  where  the  use 
q{ gomezy  i.e.  oxen's  urine,  is  frequently  enjoined  in  connection 
with  pollution  from  the  dead;  see,  e.g.,  Vendidad,  v.  51  (a 
woman  who  has  born  a  still-born  child  drinks  ^^  gomes  mixed 
with  ashes"  to  purify  her  womb);  vii.  73-75  (cleansing  of 
polluted   vessels    by   gomez^   earth   and   water);    viii.    11-13 

*  Cp.  Simcox  in  EBi.  547  :  "Is  the  putting^  away  of  the  heifer  with 
something  of  a  royal  funeral  an  almost  unconscious  reminiscence  of  a 
well-nigh  forgotten  cultus  of  sacred  animals  ?  Is  the  red  heifer  the  last 
trace  of  a  cow  goddess  ?  " 

t  We.  {Comp.  178)  speaks  of  the  use  of  the  ashes  of  the  red  cow  as 
"  recalling'  Arian  methods  of  purification.' 


XIX.  247 

(corpse-bearers  wash  their  hair  and  bodies  with  the  urine  of 
sheep  or  oxen).  Cows'  urine  also  ranked  as  a  pecuharly 
valuable  means  of  purification  in  India  (cp.  Oldenberg,  Veda, 
p.  490).  Have  we,  then,  in  this  use  of  the  cow  a  trace  of 
Persian  influence  on  the  Jews  ?  So  far  as  the  known  literary 
history  of  the  chapter  is  concerned,  this  is  not  impossible. 
On  the  other  hand,  this  would  not  account  for  the  slaughter 
of  the  cow.  To  this  we  may  find  a  closer  parallel  in  the 
Roman  use  of  the  ashes  of  calves  in  lustration :  cp.  Ovid, 
FasL  iv.  639,  725,  733.  Cp.,  further,  W.  R.  Smith,  J^el. 
SemA  362,  ^382.  For  Egyptian  and  Roman  instances  of  red 
victims,  see  below  on  v.^. 

In  origin  many  of  the  elements  in  the  present  ritual 
are  not  peculiarly  Hebraic  or  Jewish.  But  what  did  they 
signify  to  the  Jews?  Philo  naturally  allegorises.  The 
mixture  of  water  and  ashes  is  to  remind  men  of  what  they 
consist,  for  knowledge  of  oneself  is  the  most  wholesome 
form  of  purification  [De  victimas  Offerentibus,  c.  ii. ;  Mangey, 
ii,252).  Needless  to  say,  the  rite  had  no  such  meaning  for  the 
ordinary  Jew.  But  is  Bahr  much  nearer  the  mark?  According 
to  him,  the  purpose  of  the  whole  rite  is  to  symbolise  the  anti- 
thesis between  life  and  death.  The  pollution  has  been  caused 
by  death ;  everything  in  the  rite  of  purification  must  point  to 
life :  hence  the  redness  of  the  cow  and  the  scarlet,  for  red  is 
the  colour  of  life :  the  female  sex  of  the  animal,  for  the  female 
is  the  source  of  life:  the  cedar,  for  cedar  wood  is  incorruptible  ; 
and  so  forth.  For  another  suggestion,  see  EBL  s.v.  "  Clean," 
§  16  ad  Jin. 

To  Christian  interpreters  the  c.  gave  from  the  first  (cp.  Heb.  9^')  a 
wide  scope  for  allegorising-— to  them,  indeed,  the  meaning  of  the  rites 
here  recorded  was  evident,  to  the  Jews  obscure  {Ep.  of  Barnabas  7^).  In 
Barnabas  (c.  7)  the  allegory  is  already  elaborate,  but  later  it  was  much 
more  fully  developed.  Many  of  the  requirements  of  the  law,  such  as  the 
spotlessness  of  the  victim  and  its  being  burnt  outside  the  camp,  had  an 
obvious  meaning  for  the  allegorist.  Augustine  in  his  lengthy  discussion 
{Qiicest.  in  Num.,  No.  33  in  Migne,  Patrolog-ia  Latina,  xxxiv.  732-737) 
interprets  amongst  other  things  the  victim  itself  as  symbolising  Christ  in 
the  flesh  ;  the  female  sex,  the  weakness  of  the  flesh  ;  the  red  colour,  the 
bloody  passion  ;  the  cedar,  hope  ;  the  hyssop,  faith  (quas  cum  sit  herba 
humilis,   radicibus  hseret  in  petra) ;   the  scarlet  thread,  charity.     In  the 


248  NUMBERS 

burning'  he  sees  a  sign  of  the  resurrection :  since  fire  naturally  ascends, 
and  what  is  burnt  becomes  fire.  That  the  victim  is  burnt  before  Ele'azar, 
portends  that  Christ's  resurrection  was  witnessed  by  those  who  were  to 
become  a  royal  priesthood.  The  dead  which  make  men  unclean  are  dead 
works — and  so  forth. 

1-13.  The  preparation,  effect,  and  use  of  the  waters  for 
the  removal  of  uncleanness. — A  red  cow  which  is  without 
blemish,  and  has  never  borne  the  yoke,  is  to  be  slain  outside 
the  camp,  v.^*- ;  Ele'azar  is  to  sprinkle  some  of  its  blood 
seven  times  towards  the  tent  of  meeting-,  v.* ;  then  the  cow — 
skin,  flesh,  blood,  and  fecal  matter — is  to  be  burnt,  v.^ ;  with 
the  ashes,  cedar  wood,  *' hyssop,"  and  scarlet  thread  are  to 
be  mingled,  v.^;  the  whole  constitute  the  ing-redients  of  the 
"water  of  impurity,"  v.*.  Every  one  concerned  in  the  pre- 
paration of  this  water  is  rendered  unclean,  v.'^'-  ^''.  Every  one 
defiled  by  contact  with  the  dead  is  to  get  himself  sprinkled 
with  this  water  on  the  third  and  seventh  day  from  defilement, 
under  pain  of  being-  *'  cut  off"  ;  and  thus  on  the  seventh  day  to 
recover  his  cleanness,  v.^^~^^. 

1.  Unto  Moses  and  Aaroii\  2^  n.;  Moses  only  is  recogfnised 
in  v.^. — 2.  This  is  the  statute  of  the  law]  or  "teaching"  (npn 
niinn) ;  also  3i^^t;  cp.  the  similar  double  phrase  OSE^a  npn 
27^1  35^9  f. — Speak]  the  Hebrew  is  sing,  ("i?'^) ;  Moses  is  the 
subject:  cp.  i^  n. —  That  they  take  unto  thee]  the  verb  here 
used  (np^)  is  not  the  same  as,  but  virtually  synonymous  with, 
that  commonly  rendered  "bring"  (X'':}n) ;  the  two  interchange 
in  Lev.  12^-^. — A  red  cow]  no  unnatural  colour  is  intended: 
for  though  the  word  mx  at  times  denotes  a  brilliant  red  colour 
(as  of  blood),  it  is  also  used  where  we  should  rather  speak  of 
a  brown  or  reddish  brown  (Zech.  i^,  Gn.  25^'' — of  lentils);  cp. 
EBi.  S73.  Hebrew  terms  for  colour  were  not  precise:  see 
G.  W.  Thatcher's  art.  "  Colour"  in  Hastings'  DB.  Why  the 
cow  had  to  be  red  is  uncertain.  Possibly  because  red  is  the 
colour  of  blood  ;  so  the  colour  was  commonly  understood 
by  the  allegorists.  But  the  equivalence  of  red  and  blood  is 
also  primitive  (cp.  Clay  Trumbull,  Blood  Covenant,  236  f.). 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  offerings  by  the  Romans  of 
reddish  -  golden  puppies  [Ruiilce  canes)  to  make  the  crops 
grow  ripe  and  ruddy,  and  of  red-haired  men,  whose  ashes  were 


XIX.  1-3  249 

scattered  with  winnowing-  fans,  and  of  red  oxen  by  the  Egyp- 
tians, Frazer  [GB.  ii.  311,  142,  254  f.)  detects  a  symbolism 
of  the  ruddy  golden  corn. — The  animal  is  a  female,  in  this 
resembling  an  animal  brought  as  a  sin-offering,  6^*,  Lev.  4^'' 
5*^  14^°,  and  the  animal  used  in  the  rite  described  in  Dt.  21^"^. 
But  the  term  used  (ms)  does  not  define  the  age  or  condition 
of  the  animal;  it  means  simply  a  female  of  the  bovine  kind. 
"  Heifer"  (RV.)  is  wrong;  for  niQ  is  used  in  i  S.  6'^  of  cows 
that  had  borne  calves ;  cp.  also  Job  21^®  and  the  metaphorical 
use  in  Am.  4^.  Nor  does  the  specification  that  the  animal  is 
never  to  have  been  yoked  necessarily  imply  that  a  heifer  is 
intended ;  for  the  kine  of  i  S.  6^  are  also  such  as  have  never 
before  been  yoked. — Faultless,  -wherein  there  is  no  de/ect]  for  a 
similar  redundance  of  expression,  cp.  Lev.  22^1  (H).  The  cow, 
like  a  sacrificial  animal  [e.g:  Dt.  17^,  Lev.  22-°^-),  is  to  be  free 
from  such  defects  as  lameness  or  blindness. — Upofi  which  a 
yoke  hath  never  come\  i^^^  n^^y  xhv  ^  IK^N)  i  S.  6^  t ;  cp.  Dt.  21^ 
(pya  n3w^  N^  iK'N)  :  cp.  the  d^vye<;  and  injuges  of  the  Greeks 
and  Latins.  The  animal  is  to  be  one  that  has  never  been  used 
for  profane  purposes.  This  provision  is  not  made  for  cows 
offered  as  sacrifices.  The  cows  of  i  S.  O  are  indeed  ultimately 
sacrificed  (v.^*) ;  but  they  were  not  selected  for  this  purpose. 
Neither  the  heifer  of  Dt.  21,  nor  the  red  cow  (see  below)  is 
offered  as  a  sacrifice ;  but  in  each  case  the  animal  is  selected 
for  a  special  sacred  purpose,  and  for  this  reason  must  be  one 
that  has  not  previously  been  used  for  ordinary  domestic  pur- 
poses :  cp.  the  case  of  the  firstborn,  Dt.  15^^. — The  Jewish 
doctors  disputed  about  the  degree  of  redness  and  the  age  of 
the  cow ;  most  agreed  that  it  must  be  at  least  two  years  old 
(for  a  ms  would  be  older  than  a  rhiv),  and  some  admitted 
that  it  might  be  as  old  as  five  years.  As  to  the  colour,  some 
maintained  that  the  presence  of  two  black  or  white  hairs 
rendered  an  animal  unsuitable  [Parah,  c.  1.  2);  this  maybe 
mere  extravagance,  arising  from  erroneously  connecting  nj3''i2n 
with  ^?0^^{  in  the  sense  "  wholly  red  "  (so  Siphre) ;  but  a  similar 
scrupulosity  is  attributed  by  Plutarch  {De  Iside,  31)  to  the 
Egyptians  in  the  choice  of  their  red  victims. — 3.  And  ye  shall 
give  it]  the  pi.  subject  in  accordance  with  v.^;  ffi  Kal  Bwaeit;, 


250  NUMBERS 

following  up  the  "  speak  "  and  "  for  thee  "  of  v.^ — To  Eleazar\ 
the  preparation  of  the  '*  water  of  impurity"  entails  pollution; 
hence  Ele'azar  is  intrusted  with  it,  rather  than  the  high  priest 
Aaron  himself;  cp.  the  strict  injunction  of  Lev.  21^^  (H),  and 
also  17^  n. — A}id  it  shall  be  taken  outside  the  camp  and  slain 
before  him]  on  these  passive  renderings,  see  phil.  n.  RV.  is 
only  right  with  regard  to  the  second  verb.  The  fact  that  the 
sacred  victim  is  slain  outside  the  camp  is  quite  exceptional, 
and  is  inconsistent  with  the  view  that  it  is  a  sacrifice,  an 
offering  to  Yahweh ;  that  the  flesh  of  certain  sin-offerings, 
after  presentation  and  undergoing  sacrificial  rites  at  the  altar, 
was  burnt  outside  the  camp  (Lev.  4^^'-  ^^  8^"^  g^^  16^:  cp.  Ex. 
29^*),  is  only  a  partial  parallel,  and  to  be  differently  explained 
(cp.  p.  65,  209  f.).  Nor  is  it  a  complete  explanation  to  cite  5^"^ 
and  to  say  that  the  victim,  having  reference  to  death,  is  there- 
fore removed  from  the  camp.  W.  R.  Smith  [Rel.  of  Semites} 
354  ff.,  *374ff.)  cites  a  number  of  instances  from  other  re- 
ligions in  which  human  sacrifices  were  burnt  outside  the  city. — 
4.  Ele'azar  is  to  sprinkle  (njn ;  ct.  pit  18^^  n.)  some  of  the  blood 
of  the  cow  seven  times  (cp.  Lev.  4^-  ^^  i6^*-  ^^)  towards  the  front 
of  the  tent  of  meeting ;  this,  apparently,  is  to  indicate  that  the 
cow  is  sacred  to  Yahweh. — 5.  The  cow  is  to  be  burnt  entire 
in  the  sight  of  Ele'azar.  With  clause  5,  cp.  the  somewhat 
differently  expressed  directions  of  Ex.  29^*,  Lev.  ^^^''  \(P'.  the 
present  is  the  only  instance  in  which  the  blood  is  dealt  with 
in  the  same  way  as  the  skin,  flesh,  and  fecal  matter  (t^'■l^) ; 
and  this  for  the  reason  that  the  blood  of  all  sacrifices  was 
drained  off  either  to  be  tossed  against  the  altar  or  used  for 
sprinkling.  Only  quite  exceptionally,  too,  was  the  skin  of  a 
sacrifice  burnt  (Lev.  4^^-  2*^).  —  6.  Cedar^  hyssop,  and  scarlet 
thread]  these  are  cast  Into  the  yet  burning  carcase  of  the  cow 
and  reduced  with  It  to  ashes,  so  that  with  the  ashes  of  the 
cow  they  form  the  ingredients  of  the  cleansing  mixture.  The 
use  of  the  same  three  objects  in  Lev.  14^-  ^-  ^^-  ^^^-  in  the  rite  of 
purification  from  leprosy  is  different ;  for  there  it  appears  that 
the  cedar  and  hyssop,  bound  together  by  the  scarlet,  are  used 
as  a  sprinkler  with  which  the  liquid  Is  sprinkled  on  the  person 
to  be  cleansed:  cp.  the  use  of  the  bunch  of  hyssop  below  In 


XIX.  4-7  251 

v.^8  and  in  Ex.  12"^.  *'H3'ssop,"  after  the  vcrawiro'^  of  C5, 
is  the  conventional  rendering-  of  the  Heb.  21TX ;  but  appears 
to  be  wrong-,  since  Hyssopns  officinalis,  L.,  is  not  native  to 
Palestine.  That  some  climbing-  plant  is  intended,  is  clear 
fro-m  I  K  5^^(43^).  Beyond  this  all  is  very  uncertain.  The 
favourite  identification  is  with  the  caper  (Capparis  spinosa),  a 
vivid  green  creeper  which  grows,  amongst  many  other  places, 
on  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem  for  its 
cleansing  and  medicinal  properties.  Jewish  tradition  rather 
favours  Origanum  marjorana,  L.  (a  kind  of  marjoram).*  What- 
ever the  plant,  it  was  doubtless  used  in  this  and  the  parallel 
rite  of  purification  from  leprosy  on  account  of  its  cleansing- 
properties  (Ps.  51^^^^).  The  scarlet  thread  was  presumably 
selected  for  its  colour,  for  the  same  obscure  reason  that 
required  the  cow  to  be  red ;  the  cedar,  perhaps  on  account 
of  its  soundness  and  endurance,  and  its  supposed  property 
of  imparting-  these  qualities — a  virtue  also  attributed  to  the 
juniper,  which  many  f  argue  must  be  intended  by  the  Heb.  TiX 
here.  Pliny  remarks  {HN.  bk.  xvi.  §  76) :  "  Cedri  oleo  peruncta 
materies  nee  tineam  nee  cariem  sentit;  Junipero  eadem  virtus 
quae  cedro."  Numerous  medicinal  qualities  with  which  cedar 
and  hyssop  were  credited  in  the  ancient  world  are  mentioned 
by  Pliny;  see  the  Index  to  HN.'m  Silleg's  edition  (Gotha,  1857), 
s.v.  **  Cedrus  "  and  "  Hysopus."— 7f.  The  priest  and  the  man 
w'ho  actually  burnt  the  cow  are  alike  rendered  unclean  by  their 
duties;  they  must  wash  their  persons  (cp.  Lev.  i^  passim) 
and  their  clothes  (cp.  Lev.  uss.  28.  40  i-s  ^j^<j  passim)\  at  the 
close  of  day  they  recover  their  cleanness  :  cp.  v.^''.  Similarly, 
some  of  those  who  were  concerned  in  the  rites  of  the  Day  of 
Atonement,  the  effect  of  which  was  to  cleanse  the  people,  are 
themselves  rendered  unclean:  see  Lev.  i626-28.  ^p^  ^^g  notes 
below  on  v.-°'-. — Until  the  evening]  (myn  ^J;)  so,  as  defining 
the  close  of  (the  shortest)  period  of  uncleanness.  Lev.  ii^^f-  27f. 

31f.  39f.   1^46  1^5-8.  lOf.  16f.  19.  21-23.  27   1^15^   ^T^^    j^Tf.  21f.  (^H    P)  ;    Le^^ 

*  Tristram,  Natural  History  of  the  Bible,  456  f.  ;  Low,  Aram.  Pflanzen- 
namen,  93;  and  the  Bible  dictionaries  under  "Hyssop";  also  EBi.s.v. 
"  Caper-berry." 

t  See,  especially,  Post  in  Hastings'  DB.  s.v.  "  Cedar." 


252  NUMBERS 

22^  (H)  f.  The  same  term  of  time  is  differently  defined  in 
Dt.  2312  (^^j2>'C'n  N331  .  .  .  my  mos^). — 9  f.  A  man  ceremonially 
clean  is  to  collect  the  ashes  and  deposit  them  in  a  clean  place 
outside  the  ca'mp,  where  they  are  to  be  kept  for  mixing,  as 
occasion  may  arise,  with  running  water  to  produce  "  water  of 
impurity,"  v.^'^.  The  man  who  collects  the  ashes  is  rendered 
unclean  by  the  duty  {cp.v."^^-^^^-). —  Water  of  impuriiy'\[Tnz'^12y 
also  v.^^- ^*'  3'^^:  '^"'^n  "'D  v.^^t)  i.e.  water  for  the  removal  of 
impurity:  see  n.  on  "  water  of  sin"  (nxDH  ''O)  8^.  Cp.  Zech. 
13I  **a  fountain  .  .  .  for  \i.e.  for  the  removal  of]  sin  and 
impurity."  The  term  mj,  which  is  also  used  of  menstrua- 
tion, refers  to  ceremonial  uncleanness  under  its  aspect  of 
something  that  is  abhorrent,  to  be  shunned  or  avoided  ;  cp.  the 
figurative  use  of  the  word  in  Ezek.  7^^^-.  The  root  in  Heb. 
and  Arab,  means  "  to  flee  from";  in  Aram,  "to  abominate" 
or  *'  shrink  from"  (see  BDB.). — li,  viz.  the  cow  thus  reduced 
to  ashes,  is  a  means  of  revioving  sirJ\  cp.  ffi^  {arivicryua) ;  the 
Heb.  riNton  (  =  **sin")  received  a  number  of  secondary  mean- 
ings, such  as  "punishment  for  sin,"  "offering  for  sin": 
there  is  no  necessity  for  adopting  the  latter  sense  here ;  it 
would  be  pointless.  Moreover,  unlike  actual  sacrificial  offer- 
ings, this  cow  is  not  slain  at  the  sanctuary. — 10a.  Cp.  v.'''-. — 
10b.  Cp.  15^^"^*' n. — 11-13.  Touching  a  dead  person  entails 
uncleanness  for  at  least  seven  days :  but  by  making  use  of 
the  "water  of  impurity  "  on  the  third  and  seventh  days  from 
defilement,  the  uncleanness  is  removed  at  the  end  of  that 
period ;  failure  thus  to  remove  the  uncleanness  is  punished 
by  being  "cut  off." — 11.  He  that  ioiicheth  the  dead,  even  any 
human  corpse]  K'DO  is  clearly  used  in  v.^^  of  that  with  which  it 
is  possible  to  come  into  physical  contact,  i.e.  of  the  corpse  ; 
and  so  it  is  best  rendered  here  :  the  ?  in  t^'D3  73?  is  then  not 
genetival  (RV.),  but  summarising  (cp.  BDB.  p.  514^).  See 
also  5^  phil.  n. — Shall  be  unclean  seven  days]  this  longer  term 
of  uncleanness  (ct.  v.^),  the  observance  of  which  is  referred  to 
in  12^*  (E),  is  due  to  the  more  serious  nature  of  the  defilement 
as  compared  with  that  which  entailed  only  one  day's  defilement 
(v.'^n.);  other  causes  of  defilement  that  last  seven  days  are 
menstruation  and  other  issues  (Lev.  c.  15),  or  the  birth  of  a 


XIX.  9-13  253 

male  child  (Lev.  122). — 12.  In  v.^^  two  sprinklings,  one  on  the 
third  day  and  one  on  the  seventh,  are  quite  clearly  required. 
The  same  requirement  is  presupposed  here  in  clause  h,  and 
might,  with  difficulty,  be  read  into  clause  a  even  as  it  now 
stands  in  ?^.  But  for  "irtD''  in  clause  a  read,  with  S  S, 
"inDI,  and  render  —  He  vmst  unsin  himself  (or,  get  himself 
tinsinned,  8"^-  ^^)  thereiaith  on  the  third  day  and  on  the 
seventh,  and  so  beco7ne  cleaii ;  but  if  he  do  not  unsin  himself 
on  the  tJiird  day  and  on  the  seventh,  he  will  not  become 
clean.  — 13.  Every  one  who  toucheth  a  dead  person,  i.e. 
the  corpse  of  any  man  that  7nay  have  died[\  cp.  v.^^. — Hath 
defiled  the  dwelling  of  YahweK\  Lev.  15^^ — That  soul  shall  be 
cut  off\  9^^  n. — From  Israel^  after  the  preceding  phrase  only 
occurs  again  in  Ex.  12^^  f. — Because  the  water  of  impurity 
was  not  thrown  over  hhn\  so  also  v.^° ;  the  verb  (pit)  means 
"to  throw  in  quantities,"  ^.^.  in  handfuls  or  bowlfuls ;  it  is 
quite  distinct  from  the  verb  riTn  =  "  to  sprinkle,"  v.*.  See 
BDB.  s.v.  p"iT.  In  v.^^  a  rite  of  sprinkling  is  described ;  in 
v.-",  again,  the  water  is  described  as  thrown  in  a  quantity. 
The  distinctly  passive  vb.  here  indicates  that  the  water  is 
thrown  over  the  person  to  be  cleansed  by  another. 

2.  in,yi  .  .  .  nm]  cp.  5^  n. — 3.  khe'i  .  .  .  x'sini]  Dav.  io8a  ;  G.-K.  144^. 
ffir  renders  both  verbs  in  the  pi. — njno'?]  G  +  e/s  rbirov  KaOapbv  :  cp.  v.®  |^. — 
4.  lyniixa]  ©  omits. — 5.  fjitfi]  ffi  KaTaKavaovaiv  (cp.  n.  on  v.'),  and  for  rpc" 
at  end  of  v.  KaTaKavdrjaerai. — 5.  ntJ'ns]  ciS  does  not  mean  excrement  (RV.), 

but,  like  LLJji  and  Assyr.  pirlti,  the  contents  of  the  intestines :  see  Haupt's 
n.  in  SBOT.,  "Judges,"  p.  30. — 6.  I^'^rni]  ffi  Kal  i/xpaXovcnv  ;  but  wrongly  : 
this  verb,  like  the  preceding-  and  following,  refers  to  Ele'azar. — 8.  D'oa  (i)] 
&  &  "B  and  one  or  two  Heb.  MSS.  om.  ;  cp.  v.''-  ^*'-  ^^  ^.  D'D3,  common 
after  {'m,  is  never  used  after  033  in  Piel,  and  but  once  after  Pual  (Lev.  15^^): 
so  Paterson  in  SBOT. — 9.  "isx  here  and  in  v.^",  but  nsy  v.";  neither  is 
the  word  used  of  the  ashes  of  burnt  sacrifices,  which  is  ytyi. — n^:  'p] 
EV.  "water  of  separation  " — a  Jewish,  but  incorrect,  interpretation  :  cp. 
Ibn  Ezra  Q3n:o  idd  pim  icitd  ni:  'D  (Is.  66').  Another  traditional  and  in- 
correct  interpretation    is   ' '  water  of  sprinkling  "  ;  so  G  {vStap  pav7i<r/iou) 

S  ("IrOTDJj  \1^)  2^°  F  Rashi.  This  sprang  from  giving  to  mj  the 
sense  of  the  Aram.  m3  =  Heb.  mi.  Rashi  defends  it  by  a  reference  to 
nT  =  "  to  cast  "  in  Lam.  3'^,  Zech.  2*.  But  the  noun  .tj:  in  Hebrew  always 
means  "  impurity"  ;  cp.  e.s^.  Ezr.  9". — 10.  nnMi]  G.-K.  1446. — 11.  Kcui]  Dr. 
Tenses,  123a.  S  reads  NCa'  ;  cp.  (Tt. — 13.  pT  n"?  nn  'c]  ace.  with  pass.  : 
Dav.  79 f.;  G.-K.  i2iab;  otherwise  Kon.  iii.  349^. 


2  54  NUMBERS 

14-22.  This  section  repeats  in  greater  detail  and  in  some- 
what different  phraseology  the  substance  of  v.^^~^^  —  the 
occasion,  effect,  and  means  of  removal  of  defilement  by  the 
dead. 

Amongf  the  differences  of  phraseology  note  the  different  ways  of  ex- 
pressingf  "any  dead  body"  (with  v.^'^*  ^^^  ct.  v.^^'^*  ^^'')  and  the  "ashes" 
of  the  cow  ("iSN  v.^'"  ;  -\si!  v,''')  ;  note  also  that  cbj  is  used  in  different  senses 
in  V.'''  (cp.  v.^^)  and  v.^^  ^^p^  v_22^  .  and,  further,  ct.  v.^-and  ■'^,  and  haief^  "!wn 
(v.^")  with  "^xntJ-'C  (v."),  and  Kr:a  ni.T  tsnpD  nx  and  Nin  xaa  (v.^)  with  ptfD  nx 
Noa  ni.T  and  n'.T  n::£2  (v.*^). 

It  is  not  unlikely,  therefore,  that  v.^*"^^  and  v.^~^'  were 
originally  distinct  laws,  which  have  been  combined  by  the 
compiler  for  the  sake  of  completeness.  For  different  views 
as  to  their  relative  antiquity,  see  above,  p.  242  f. 

14  f,  A  death  in  a  tent  defiles  all  persons  who  are  in  the 
tent  at  the  time,  or  who  enter  it  at  the  time,  and  all  uncovered 
vessels.  The  defilement  in  the  case  of  persons  lasts  seven 
days.  This  is  more  comprehensive  than  v.^^~^^,  which  only 
speaks  of  defilement  being  occasioned  by  physical  contact  with 
a  corpse.  In  Indian  law  a  death  defiles  all  relatives  of  the 
deceased,  whether  near  or  far  away  at  the  time  (Manu,  v. 
74  ff.) ;  so  also  in  the  Zend-avesta  (Fargard  xii.):  cp.  further, 
above,  p.  244. —  WJien  any  man  dies  in  a  teni\  the  term  "  tent  " 
is  chosen  out  of  regard  to  the  supposed  situation  in  the  wilder- 
ness. It  must  mean  any  dwelling :  (5r  rightly  expresses  the 
sense  by  oiKia. — 15.  Which  hath  no  covering  and  no  cord  upon 
it\  the  meaning  perhaps  is,  which  has  no  covering  tied  over  it ; 
but  the  exact  meaning  of  the  words  here  used  is  uncertain :  see 
phil.  n. — 16.  Contact  in  the  open  with  the  corpse  of  any  one 
who  has  died  through  violence  or  naturally,  or  with  any  human 
bone,  or  with  any  grave,  also  entails  seven  days'  defilement ; 
cp.  31^^. — 17  ff.  The  mode  of  purification. — 17.  Cp.  v.^.  Some 
of  the  ashes  of  the  cow,  here  referred  to  as  the  hatfdth  (see  on 
v.^),  are  mixed  in  a  vessel  with  spring  water  (□''''n  wo :  cp. 
Gn.  26^9,  Zech.  148,  Cant.  4I5) :  cp.  Lev.  \\^^-  5'^-52,_i8.  Some 
man,  ceremonially  clean,  takes  a  bunch  of  hyssop  (v.^  n.),  and 
by  means  of  this  sprinkles  the  mixture  over  the  persons  de- 
filed (v.^*-  ^^),  over  the  tent  where  a  death  has  occurred,  and 


XIX.  i4-=:s  255 

over  all  the  vessels  defined  in  v.^^.  This  use  of  *'  hyssop " 
as  a  lustral  sprinkler  may  be  compared  with  that  of  the  laurel 
by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  which  is  discussed  by  Botticher 
(Baumkidtiis  der  Hellenen  u.  Rovier,  369  f.). — 19.  Not  incon- 
sistent with  v.^^ ;  see  n.  there.  But  in  addition  to  what  is 
stated  in  v.^^,  it  is  here  laid  down  that  after  the  ceremonial 
sprinkling-  with  the  mixture  on  the  seventh  day,  the  defiled 
person  is  to  wash  his  person  and  his  clothes;  cp.  31^^. — 
20.  Cp.  v.'^. — From  the  midst  of  the  assembly]  ct.  v.^^  "from 
Israel "  :  the  phrase  here  used  is  in  two  respects  singular :  see 
phil.  n. — I/e  t's  uncleafi]  a  different  mode  of  expressing-  "his 
uncleanness  is  still  in  him,"  v.^^. — 21a.  The  foreg;oing  regula- 
tions are  of  perpetual  validity ;  cp.  v.^°^.  —  21b,  While  the 
water  of  impurity  cleanses  the  unclean,  it  defiles  clean  persons 
who  touch  it ;  hence  the  clean  person  (v.^®)  who  sprinkles  the 
unclean  is  himself  rendered  unclean :  uncleanness  in  this  case 
is  of  the  lighter  kind  (cp.  v.'''-  ^),  lasts  only  till  the  close  of  day, 
and  is  removed  by  simple  washing-  of  the  clothes.  With  the 
defiling  eff"ect  of  the  water  which  is  sacred  (see  on  v.*),  Nowack 
[Arch.  ii.  2S8  n.  i)  aptly  compares  the  later  Jewish  doctrine 
that  the  Holy  Scriptures  "defiled  the  hands  "  (cp.  Vadaz'm, 
c.  3f.;  especially  4*'). — 22.  Every  thing  that  the  person  defiled 
by  the  dead  touches,  becomes  unclean,  and  any  one  touching 
it  is  rendered  unclean  for  the  rest  of  the  day ;  cp.  the  similar 
cases  of  persons,  male  or  female,  rendered  unclean  by  a  natural 
discharge— Lev.  154-6.  of.  20-23. 26f..  xhe  clause  U  .  .  .  n^'i^  b 
is  no  doubt,  as  the  parallels  in  Lev.  suggest,  to  be  taken 
neutrally,  but  as  including-  persons,  i.e.  any  one  who  touches 
a  person  during  the  period  of  his  defilement  is  defiled.  Cp. 
Gautama,  xiv.  30  {  =  SBE.  ii.  p.  250) — "On  touching  an 
outcast,  a  Kandala,  a  woman  impure  on  account  of  her  con- 
finement, a  woman  in  her  courses,  or  a  corpse,  and  on  touch- 
ing persons  who  have  touched  them,  he  shall  purify  himself  by 
bathing  dressed  in  his  clothes." 

14.  Vnxa  nio'  'd  mx  minn  nxt]  The  accents  (note  the  athnah  under 
^rtNn)  mean:  This  is  the  laiv  when  a  man  dieth  in  a  tent;  so  RV.  ; 
ratlier,  This  is  the  law.  When  a  man  dies,  etc.  In  either  case  the 
Hebrew  is  very  unusual.     The  phrase  minn  nxi  nowhere  else  stands  thus 


256  NUMBERS 

by  itself.  Elsewhere  we  have  n'?ij;'?  ninnn  nxt  or  the  like  ;  see  5®  n. ; 
more  frequently  .  .  .  nnn  nxi  followed  by  a  word  defining-  the  subject  of 
the  law,  e.ff.  5^*  6'^  Lev.  6^- '''  ^*. — mo'  '3  din]  a  characteristic  construc- 
tion at  the  beginning  of  a  law  in  P ;  cp.  e.g.  s''- '-,  Lev.  i-.  So  also  in 
the  Mishnah  {Ber.  2^36);  but  not  in  Ex.  21-23  (see,  e.g.,  21^-"),  nor  Dt. 
(see,  e.g.,  19"  22").  See  5'  n.— 15.  vhy  V'ns  tds  px  nB'x]  ffi^  Scra  ovxl 
dea-fibv  KaTdS^derai  iv  avr^',  S>  ^S_fc_»  ]oC7l  (JO ;  C  Hpo  r»  nsuD  D'"?! 
'mhy.  These  renderings  scarcely  carry  us  beyond  the  general  sense,  and 
contain  no  precise  tradition  as  to  the  meaning  of  Tcs,  which  elsewhere 
means  a  "bracelet."  Nor  can  a  suitable  meaning  be  safely  established 
by  etymology  ;  J^a^,  cited,  e.g.,  by  Ges.  {Thes.)  in  the  sense  of  "  stopper  " 

or  "cover"  (the  meaning  of  the  nsuD  of  2^°),  is  uncertain  and  rare. 
Perhaps  TDs  was  already  obsolete  when  the  law  was  edited  and  was 
explained,  whether  quite  rightly  we  cannot  say,  by  the  addition  of  rn3  = 
"a  cord"  (15^).  S  reads  Vnsi  ras. — 17.  [mi]  S  ffi  i^na ;  cp.  inp"?  at  the 
beginning  of  the  v.  Either  both  vbs.  were  sing.  (cp.  aniyi  .  .  .  K'sim  in 
v.^)  or  both  were  pi.  Haupt  in  SBOT.  favours  the  sing.,  noting  np'^i  in 
v.'^  and  regarding  its  present  subj.  nina  b"n  as  a  gloss. — 19.  }'mi]  G^  + 
nca  ;  cp.  v."'  pj. — 20.  hnprt  twd]  cp.  16'^ ;  never  elsewhere  after  the  phrase 
H^nr:  t5'2:n  nmaji,  which  is  regularly  completed  by  n(')Dy  aipD  Ex.  31^^,  Nu. 
15^;  cp.  Lev.  17^' ^^  18^  2o2' ^'*  ^* :  for  other  completions  of  the  phrase, 
see  v.  13,  Ex.  12"  ('7K^B'■D)  and  Ex.  12^^  (Sktb"  myc).— 21.  en"?]  S  G  <S  az^. 


XX.  1-2 1.  Events  at  Kadesh. 

The  events  here  recorded  —  the  death  of  Miriam,  the 
miraculous  production  of  water  from  a  rock,  the  sin  and 
doom  of  Aaron  and  Moses,  the  embassy  to  the  king  of  Edom 
— carry  the  narrative  down  to  the  close  of  the  period  of 
wandering.  The  final  march,  concluding  with  the  conquest 
of  Canaan  from  the  E.,  is  already  contemplated.  The  present 
section  mainly  serves  the  purpose  of  an  introduction  to  the 
account  of  the  march  itself,  which  begins  in  20--  and  is  con- 
tinued in  the  following  chapters;  for  it  explains  (i)  why 
Moses  and  Aaron  were  cut  off  by  death  before  the  completion 
of  their  undertaking  to  lead  the  people  into  the  land  of 
promise,  v.""^^ ;  and  (2)  how,  in  the  first  instance,  the  Israelites 
sought  to  get  at  Canaan  by  a  peaceful  passage  through  Edom, 

Thus,  according  to  the  chronological  scheme  of  P*^,  to 
which  the  composite  narrative  of  the  Hexateuch  is  accommo- 
dated, these   events  are  nearly  forty   years  later  than  those 


XX.  257 

recorded  in  c.  i3f.  (the  spies  and  the  condemnation  to  forty 
years'  wandering-).  But  the  fusion  of  divergent  accounts,  the 
attempt  of  the  editor  to  make  the  diverg-ences  less  apparent, 
and  the  insertion  of  miscellaneous  laws  and  stories  connected 
with  no  definite  time  or  place  in  c.  15.  19,  have  obscured  this 
lapse  of  time,  and  also  the  original  representations  of  the 
various  sources.  To  a  considerable  extent  this  obscurity  can 
be  cleared  up  by  analysis,  though  in  detail  much  remains 
doubtful  or  ambiguous. 

According  to  P^,  the  spies  had  been  despatched  from,  and 
the  people  were  condemned  to  wander  in,  the  wilderness  of 
Paran  (13^  14^^):  the  wilderness  of  Sin  lay  between  Paran 
and  the  land  of  promise  (13^^).  Now  that  the  period  of  wan- 
dering is  over,  the  whole  company  advances  to  the  district 
first  reconnoitred  by  the  spies  a  gfeneration  before.  This  is 
the  wilderness  of  Sin,  or  Kadesh.  Here  the  people  lack  water, 
and  murmur.  Moses  and  Aaron,  bidden  by  Yahweh  to  pro- 
duce water  for  the  people  in  a  miraculous  manner,  so  as  to 
impress  upon  the  people  Yahweh's  holiness,  show  themselves 
unbelieving,  and  are  punished  ;  like  the  rest  of  their  genera- 
tion, they  had  been  guilty  of  the  sin  of  unbelief,  like  them 
they  must  now  be  punished  by  exclusion  from  the  holy  land. 

This  incident  is  apparently  all  that  P^  related  of  Kadesh. 
But  the  editor  thought  it  a  suitable  occasion  to  introduce  into 
his  narrative  from  his  other  sources  some  further  matters 
connected  with  the  same  place.  Since,  however,  according 
to  these  sources  (JE),  Kadesh  had  been  reached  by  the  people 
before  the  period  of  wanderings  (see  13^^),  the  editor  has 
omiitted  from  v.^  the  number  of  the  year,  which  must  have 
been  given  in  P^,  and  has  inserted  (from  JE)  the  clause  "and 
the  people  abode  in  Kadesh,"  and  the  notice  of  Miriam's 
death,  leaving  the  reader  free  to  place  the  arrival  at  Kadesh  at 
an  indefinitely  earlier  point  in  the  period  of  the  wanderings  ; 
and  the  transition  to  the  fortieth  year  at  some  point  of  the 
narrative  between  v.^  and  v.^s  (cp.  33^^).  Still  the  date 
originally  given  in  P^  was  in  all  probability  the  fortieth  year; 
see  on  v.^. 

But  this  is  not   the  whcle  of  the  editor's  work.     Other 

n 


258  NUMBERS 

stories  of  the  murmurings  for  water  were  current,  and  also 
other  stories  of  the  particular  murmuring-s  which  gave  rise  to 
or  were  told  in  order  to  explain  such  names  as  Massah 
("temptation")  and  Meribah  ("  strife  ").  The  editor  appears 
to  have  fused  some  of  these  different  stories  both  here  and  in 
Ex.  17^"'^.  Here  he  draws  in  the  main  on  P ;  in  Ex.  mainly 
on  E  ;  but  in  both  cases  he  has  also  incorporated  matter  from 
J.  By  fusion  and  some  modifications  of  his  own  he  has  here 
succeeded  in  representing  the  sin  of  Moses  and  Aaron  in  a 
milder  form  than  it  assumed  in  his  sources,  though  at  the 
expense  of  leaving  the  reader  without  any  clear  idea  of  the 
character  of  the  sin.  The  close  connection  between  the 
present  section  and  Ex.  17^"'^  is  apparent  not  only  in  the 
general  similarity  of  the  story  and  the  identity  of  one  of 
the  names  explained  (Meribah),  but  also  in  the  common  clause, 
"And  the  people  strove  (3i''"i)  with  Moses,"  which  plays  on  the 
name  to  be  explained  (Ex.  17^,  Nu.  20^). 

Certain  linguistic  peculiarities  also  point  to  considerable 
editorial  treatment  of  the  present  section. 

In  detail  Comill  {ZATW.  xi.  20-34)  has  discussed  the  analj'sis  of  the 
present  section  in  the  most  thorough  manner.  His  conclusions  cannot 
rank  as  certain,  but  they  are  as  probable  as  any  that  can  be  drawn  from 
the  data  at  command.  The  following'  brief  summary  of  his  argument 
will,  in  connection  with  the  commentary  that  follows,  open  up  to  the 
student  the  chief  questions  at  issue  and  the  nature  of  the  evidence  avail- 
able for  a  decision. 

E  clearly  associated  the  miracle  of  the  smitten  rock  with  Horeb  (Ex. 
17^,  and,  consequently,  with  the  early  period  of  the  wanderings.  Parts  of 
the  story  in  Ex.  (17^'^)  are  derived  from  J.  In  Nu.  20^'^^  the  analysis  is 
as  follows —  ' 

E.   v.""  (the  reference  to  Miriam). 

J.    V.»  (sripa  DV.T  nri),  »  (H  to  v.*  P). 

P.  V.i  (to  "month"),  2-2(from  %%  *  (except  wyai  mis),  «•  s-n  (but 
much  recast  by  R),  ^"'•. 

R  has  modified  v.^,  inserted  i:Tyai  unjx  Inv.^,  and  radically  recast  v.^'", 
and  is  wholly  answerable  for  '3  cn:cNn  n'?  jy  and  DTj;a. 

In  this  analysis  Corn,  agrees  in  the  main  with  earlier  critics  like 
Colenso,  Nold.,  Schrader,  and  Kayser;  he  differs  from  Di.  and  others, 
and  that  chiefly  in  deriving  a  far  larger  part  from  P  and  reducing  the 
amount  derived  from  E  to  a  minimum.  In  particular  Di.  finds  it 
necessary,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  reference  to  Moses'  rod,  to  refer  v.^"^' 
to  E.  Other  clear  indications  of  this  source  are  lacking,  for  Tj;3  is  not 
such  ;  whereas  n^y  (i'^  n.)  certainly  points  to  P,  and  Corn,  argues  that  the 


XX.  I  259 

rod  in  question  is  Aaron's  rod — "the  rod  before  Yahweh  "  of  v.'  being  the 
rod  of  ij-^C").  Di.  eliminates  these  words  in  v.  ^  as  editorial.  Recently 
Bacon  and  CH.  have  attributed  the  difference  between  speaking  to  and 
smiting  the  rock  to  difference  of  source,  and  have  consequently  assigned 
V.*''  (and  speak  .  .  .  its  waters)  to  J  ;  whereas  Corn,  refers  both  to  the 
original  story  of  P,  in  which  Moses  and  Aaron  are  first  commanded  by 
Vahweh  to  produce  the  water  by  merely  speaking  to  the  rock,  and  only 
in  consequence  of  their  unbelief  are  bidden  to  smite  it  (see  on  v.^'^'). 

Corn.'s  theory  of  the  relation  between  Ex.  17  and  Nu.  20  and  their 
respective  sources  is  as  follows  : — Before  the  editor  there  lay  JE  and  P  ; 
JE  contained  tivo  stories  of  the  miraculous  production  of  water — one  (E) 
was  connected  with  Rephidim,  the  other  (J)  was  connected  with  the 
arrival  at  Kadesh,  and  explained  the  two  names  Massah  and  Meribah. 
P  contained  a  similar  story,  explaining  the  names  Meribah  and  Kadesh. 
The  editor,  as  usual,  follows  P  most  closely,  and,  accordingly,  throws 
forward  the  story  to  the  close  of  the  period  of  the  wanderings,  whereas  in 
J  it  stood  at  the  beginning;  to  reduce  the  divergence  of  the  two  accounts, 
he  omits  the  number  of  the  year  (Nu.  20').  Similarly,  the  editor  frames 
his  story  so  as  to  explain  both  Meribah  and  Kadesh,  but  omits  J's  Massah. 
For  this  he  finds  a  place  in  the  earlier  story  (E)  now  found  in  Ex.  17, 
and  provides  that  story  with  what  it  originally  lacked — an  etymological 
motive.  Since  there  he  retains  both  J's  etymologies  (Massah  and 
Meribah),  he  necessarily  retains  there  also  the  clause  r.z'o  nj;  nyn  3TV 
Hence  the  identity  of  Nu.  20**  and  Ex.  17^. 

For  other  discussions  of  the  relation  between  Ex.  17'"' and  Nu.  20'"'* 
and  the  analysis,  see  Kuenen,  Hexafeiuh,  §  6  n.  42  (where  references  to 
earlier  discussions  may  be  found);  Bacon,  Triple  Tradition,  86  f.,  196  f.; 
Holzinger,  Exodus,  p.  55  ;  S.  A.  Cooke  in  EBi.  "  Massah  and  Meribah." 

1.  Arrival  (P)  and  residence  (J)  at  Kadesh,  and  death  of 
Miriam  (E). 

la  (P).  T/ie  children  of  Israel,  the  whole  congregation^  the 
same  unusual  combination  of  phrases,  each  by  itself  frequent 
in  P  (CH.  II,  45),  occurs  again  only  in  v.^^  (p^^ — Ca7ne'\  from 
the  wilderness  of  Paran,  which  lay  further  south  (10^2  j^ai  n_j^ 
and  in  which  the  years  of  wandering-  had  been  spent  (14^^). — 
To  the  wilderness  of  Si7i\  in  which  Kadesh  was  situated ;  op. 
27^^  33^^,  Dt.  32^^  (P),  and  the  paranomasia  in  v.^^  below;  see 
also  on  13-^ — In  the  first  7nonth\  the  number  of  the  year  has 
been  omitted  deliberately  (see  above).  In  all  probability  it 
was  the  fortieth;  for  (i)  the  event  to  be  related  is  given  as 
the  reason  why  Moses  and  Aaron,  who  had  led  the  people  all 
through  their  wanderings,  are  cut  off  just  before  the  entrance 
into  Canaan  (v.22-29  27^2-14^  Y)t.  32*8-52  (p)^  ^^j  Dt.  34  (so  far 
as  it  is  derived  from  P)) ;  (2)  in  c.  33,  which,  though  not  derived 


26o  NUMBERS 

from,  is  dominated  by  P^,  the  wilderness  of  Sin  is  the  statio.1 
next  before  Mount  Hor,  where  Aaron  died  in  the  fifth  month 
of  the  fortieth  year.  Thus,  according-  to  P^,  Kadesh  was 
merely  visited  by  the  people  for  a  short  period  at  the  end  oi 
the  wandering-s.  I  n  J  E  Kadesh  is  the  scene  of  a  prolong-ed  stay. 
The  people  g^o  thither  straight  from  Sinai  (cp.  13^^),  and  are 
still  there  at  the  end  of  the  period  of  wanderings  (v.^^).  To 
this  source,  therefore,  and  perhaps  in  particular  to  J,  we  may 
refer  and  the  people  abode  in  Kadesh;  cp.  Jud.  1 1^'^  and  also 
for  the  vb.  (2t^"l)  Nu.  2i25-3i  (JE).  The  change  of  subject  {the 
people  for  the  children  of  Israel,  etc.,  in  clause  a)  corresponds 
to  the  change  of  source:  cp.  14^'-  n.  In  Dt.  c.  1  f.  we  find  a 
third  view  of  the  place  of  Kadesh  in  the  wanderings,  viz. 
that  Israel  "abode"  (aD""i)  there  for  an  indefinite  time  (not 
exceeding  a  few  months)  at  the  dc^n'/ifiino-  of  the  period.  On 
the  inadequacy  of  harmonising  efforts,  see  Driver,  Deut. 
pp.  31-33. — And  Miriam  died  there.,  and  ivas  buried  there\  with 
the  phraseology,  cp.  Dt.  10''  (E).  It  is  E  who  elsewhere  is 
interested  in  Miriam ;  see  p.  98  f.  The  traditional  date  of 
Miriam's  death  must  remain  unknown ;  since  the  date  in 
clause  a  and  the  statement  of  death  are  derived  from  diff'erent 
sources,  and  had  no  original  connection  with  one  another. 

2-13.  Lack  of  water  miraculously  supplied.  The  sin  of 
Moses  and  Aaron. 

2-4.  Distressed  by  want  of  water,  the  people  reproach 
Moses  and  Aaron  for  having  brought  them  into  the  wilder- 
ness. The  lack  of  water  would  naturally  be  felt  soon  after 
arrival  at  Kadesh:  on  this,  as  well  as  on  other  grounds,  v.^^ 
may  be  recognised  as  interrupting  the  immediate  sequence  of 
v.i*  and  V.2.— 2a  (P).  V.^  (last  clause)  and  Ex.  17^^  (JE)  are 
difl^erently  worded :  Nu.  33^*  (P*)  mixes  the  phraseology  of 
both  sources. — 2b  (P).  Cp.  16^^  (P);  as  in  16^,  the  words 
spoken  (v.^^)  originally  followed  immediately  on  the  statement 
of  the  assembling  of  the  people  (v.^^). — 3a  =  Ex.  17^  (JE).  In 
v.^^  (in  contrast  with  v.-*^-*-^  etc.)  it  is  with  Moses  alone,  and 
not  with  Moses  and  Aaron,  that  the  people  quarrel :  cp.  16-*  n.; 
the  subject  as  in  i"-  (J)  is  the  people. — 3b  (P).  Would  God  we 
had  died]   14^,   Ex.    iG*^  (P). —  When  our  brctlircn   died  before 


XX.  2-8  26 1 

yah7ve/i]  at  the  time  of  the  revolt  of  Korah ;  see  :.  i6f., 
especially  1727(12)^ — Yah-weKs  assembly^  16^  n.  —  IVe  and  our 
cattle]  Cp.  Ex.  17^  (JE),  but  note  that  a  different  word  {r\':p'i:i 
not  "Cy^)  is  there  used  for  cattle  ;  see  also  1 1^  n,  P^  does  not 
mention  cattle  in  the  corresponding  complaint  of  Ex.  16^;  but 
his  account  of  the  establishment  of  the  sacrificial  system  pre- 
stipposes  that  the  Hebrews  were  accompanied  by  cattle.  Still 
the  clause  is  scarcely  from  P^;  see  phil.  n. — 5  (JE).  Why  has 
Moses  brought  the  people  up  from  Egypt  to  this  infertile  and 
waterless  region?  The  parallel  from  JE  to  the  preceding  v.: 
cp.  Ex.  17^,  Nu.  16^2  21^  (all  JE).  The  vb.  in  fl?,  as  in  the  first 
two  passages  just  cited,  is  singular,  and  addressed  to  Moses 
(cp.  v.^).  The  pi.  punctuation  of  MT  is  an  accommodation 
to  the  composite  narrative. — 6  f.  (P  :  in  continuation  of  v.^). 
Moses  and  Aaron  withdraw  from  the  complaining  people  to  the 
tent  of  meeting,  where  the  glory  of  Yahweh,  ominous  of  the 
divine  anger,  appears;  cp.  14^*'  16^^  (P).  —  8-11.  These  vv. 
should  describe  the  sin  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  for  evidently  up 
to  this  point  (cp.  v.^^)  it  is  the  people  and  not  their  leaders 
whose  conduct  has  provoked  the  divine  anger.  The  sin  which 
excluded  Moses  and  Aaron  from  Canaan  is  described  in  v.^^ 
as  unbelief,  in  v.^*  27^*  as  rebellion.  But  in  v.^"^^,  as  they 
now  stand,  neither'unbelief  nor  rebellion  on  the  part  of  Moses 
and  Aaron  is  recorded  ;  either  the  one  or  the  other  has  often 
been  read  into  the  verses,  but  neither  is  there.  Yahweh  bids 
Moses  take  the  rod  (v.^^),  and  he  obeys  (v.^) ;  Yahweh  bids 
Moses  and  Aaron  speak  to  the  rock  and  so  bring  water  from 
it  (v.^^) ;  it  is  not  recorded  either  that  they  obeyed  or  dis- 
obeyed the  command  to  speak  to  the  rock,  but  they  carried 
out  the  divine  intention  of  procuring  the  people  water.  In  its 
present  form  the  narrative  does  not  record  what  directions 
Yahweh  gave  as  to  the  use  of  the  rod,  so  that  it  is  impossible 
to  say  whether  in  striking  the  rock  at  all  or  in  striking  it 
twice,  Moses  was  guilty  of  disobedience  or  unbelief.  It  is 
possible  that  Moses  struck  the  rock  and  refused  to  speak  to  it 
through  lack  of  faith  in  Yahweh's  power  ;  it  is  possible  that 
he  struck  it  twice,  because  he  thought  a  single  stroke  would 
be  insufficient.     But  if  it  is  difficult  to  discover  Moses'  sin,  it 


262  NUMBERS 

is  more  difficult  still  to  discover  Aaron's ;  for  he  did  not  strike 
the  rock  either  once  or  twice,  and,  indeed,  all  that  the  story- 
says  of  him  is  that  he  assisted  Moses  to  assemble  the  people 
at  the  rock. 

The  truth  is,  the  story  is  mutilated  ;  and  as  any  attempt  to  reconstruct 
it  must  be  tentative,  the  exact  nature  of  the  sin  of  the  leaders  must  remain 
doubtful.  But  the  subsequent  allusions  favour  the  view  that  it  was  an 
act  of  open  rebellion,  rather  than  of  simple  unbelief.  In  v.^^  the  editor 
has  softened  down  the  terms  of  the  original  story.  According  to  Cornill's 
reconstruction,  Pe's  original  story  ran  as  follows : — Yahweh  first  bade  ' 
Moses  and  Aaron  publicly  address  the  rock,  and  so  bring  forth  water. 
Moses  and  Aaron  refuse,  sceptically  asking  Yahweh  (m  words  now 
addressed  to  the  people),  Can  we  bring  forth  wafer  for  them  out  of  this 
rock?  Yahweh  replies  (with  words  now  addressed  by  Moses  to  the 
people),  Hearken  to  Me, ye  rebels,  and  bids  them  strike  the  rock  :  this  they 
do.  Afterwards  Yahweh  pronounces  doom  on  the  leaders.  Because  ye 
were  rebellious  against  My  command,  that  ye  should  sanctify  Me,  and  so 
forth,  as  in  v.^-''. 

In  Dt.  the  cause  given  for  the  exclusion  of  Moses  from  Canaan  is 
entirely  different :  it  is  Yahweh's  anger  with  him  on  account  of  the  dis- 
obedience of  the  people  when  the  spies  returned  to  Kadesh  (Dt.  1^''  3''^''  4^^.   / 

8.  Take  the  stick\  this  is  defined  in  v.*  as  the  "stick 
before  Yahweh  "  ;  but  that  cannot  well  refer  to  anything-  but 
Aaron's  stick,  which  was  put  back,  after  it  had  budded,  to  be 
kept  "  before  the  testimony"  (17^^^°^),  i.e.  before  Yahweh  (cp. 
jyi9(4)  with  17^^^'''^).  Probably  it  is  merely  by  a  textual  error 
(iriDO  for  ntao)  of  more  recent  date  than  (!k  that  the  stick  is 
described  in  v.^^  as  "his  (i.e.  Moses')  stick."  The  stick  with 
which  wonders  is  wrought  is,  generally,  in  P's  narrative, 
used  by  Aaron  (Ex.  7^-  ^^  8^-  ^^  ^^-  ^^^) ;  another  instance  of  its 
use  by  Moses  is  possibly  to  be  found  in  Ex.  14^^'^'^,  which  is 
mainly  derived  from  P,  though  most  refer  the  single  clause 
about  the  rod  to  E  ;  cp.  also  the  part  played  by  Moses  in  the 
miracle  of  the  stick  blossoming  in  c.  17. — The  rock]  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  conspicuous  rock  at  'Ain-el-Kadis,  around  which 
the  present  story  gathered,  is  cited  in  the  n.  on  13^^. — 9. 
Moses  obeys,  and  takes  the  rod  as  directed.  Whether  the  use 
he  makes  of  it  (v.^")  was  also  in  accordance  with  Yahweh's 
command  cannot  be  determined,  for  the  divine  instructions 
as  to  the  use  of  the  rod  are  now  missing  from  the  story  >  see 
above, — 10.  Hearken  now]  If  ft^  be  original,  the  W  of  WWJ:C' 


XX.  8-13  263 

Is  due  to  the  editor:  see  16^ n.  But  CS  reads  Hearken  ttnfo  me 
(^JH'OE^) ;  cp.  Gn.  23  (P)  where  ^^V}yc\  '\^^vp^\  and  ';U'f:tJ',  which  are 
found  nowhere  else  in  the  Pentateuch,  occur  In  all  five  times : 
Corn.  {ZATW.  1S91,  p.  26). —  Ye  rebels]  QnDH  Is  not  quite 
suitably  used  by  Moses  In  addressing"  the  people :  for  they 
had  murmured,  but  not  rebelled.  On  the  other  hand,  Moses 
and  Aaron  are  elsewhere  spoken  of  as  having-  on  this  occasion 
rebelled  ag-ainst  Yahweh's  command  ("'Q  nN  lio) ;  hence  it  has 
been  suggested  *  that  in  the  original  form  of  the  story  these 
words  were  addressed  by  Yahweh  to  Moses  and  Aaron. — 
FroJ7i  this  rock  must  "xc  produce  water  for  yotc?]  these  are  the 
"  rash"  words  which,  according-  to  Ps.  io6^-'-,  called  down  on 
Moses  the  divine  sentence.  In  their  present  context  they  are 
best  understood  as  an  expression  of  ill-temper.  The  impf. 
K*S13  might  equally  well  be  rendered,  can  -we  produce?  But 
inasmuch  as  the  words  are  Immediately  followed  by  Moses' 
production  of  the  water,  such  an  interpretation  of  the  clause 
in  its  present  position  would  be  unnatural.  See,  however, 
above,  p.  262.— 11.  With  the  stick\  so  (5:  |^  **his  stick," 
see  n.  on  v.^. — 12  f.  Moses  and  Aaron  condemned,  on  account 
of  their  unbelief,  not  to  enter  Canaan.  On  the  Incongruity 
between  these  verses  and  v.^~^^,^  see  on  the  latter.  —  To 
sanctify  Me]  cp.  27^*,  Dt.  32^^.  With  these  words  {fhakdi- 
sheni)  the  writer  plays  on  the  name  of  the  place  of  the 
Incident  (Kadesh) ;  so  again  In  v.^'.  By  their  sin  Moses  and 
Aaron  prevented  the  full  might  and  power  of  Yahweh  be- 
coming manifest  to  the  people,  and  so  robbed  Him  of  some  of 
the  fear  due  to  Him  :  for  the  sense  of  "sanctity,"  cp.  Is.  8^^ 
29^3,  Ps.  99^  iii^, — 13.  The  waters  of  Kadesh  were  called 
Merlbah  ("strife"),  because  the  people  strove  [rdbii ;  cp. 
bimrihath  haedah,  27^*)  with  Yahweh  there ;  and  the  place 
Kadesh,  because  in  spite  of  Moses  and  Aaron's  sin,  Yahweh 
vindicated  His  holiness  (wayyikkadesh :  cp.  Lev.  10^)  there. 
The  two  names  Meribah-Kadesh  are  combined  In  27^*,  Dt. 
32^1,  Ezek.  47^^  48"^,  if  not  also  in  Dt.  33^  (cp.  CK :  and  see 
DI.,  Dr.).  Whether  Meribah  was  also  really  called  Massah 
(Ex.  17")  is  more  doubtful. 

*  Nold.,  Corn. 


264  NUMBERS 

3.  la.x'?  nCN'i]  idx  followed  by  nsx"?  without  any  intervening  word  ia 
unusual;  but  see  Ex.  15^  (overlooked  by  Corn.)  and  also  2  S.  5^  20^*, 
Jer.  2924,  Ezek.  (12")  33^",  Zech.  2'*:  cp.  Corn.  ZATW.  xi.  p.  22.— i'7i]  The 
Waw  is  used  forcibly  with  nothing'  previously  expressed  for  it  to  connect 
with  ;  cp.  11^''  (jn'  'di)  and  (as  here  at  the  beginning  of  a  speech)  2  S.  24* 
(fjori),  2  K.  i'"  (nxi :  v.^  cn  alone),  7^ :  see,  further,  Dr.  Tenses,^  p.  141  n. 
— wyu]  a  favourite  word  with  P  :  Driver,  L.O.T.  p.  131,  No.  9;  CH.  51. 
— nin  nnnon  b'N]  Ex.  16^  (P). — UTyai]  a  much  less  usual  word  for  cattle 
than  n:pD  (Ex.  17^).  The  latter  is  common  alike  in  P  and  J,  and  used, 
though  less  frequently,  by  E  and  D  (CH.  18J).  Tya,  except  in  the 
present  c,  occurs  only  in  Gn.  45"  (E),  Ex.  22^,  Ps.  78'**;  see,  further, 
Corn.  ZATW.  xi.  24 f. — 5.  i:n'?j;n]  n^yn  of  Yahweh  bringing  Israel  out  of 
Egypt  is  characteristic  of  JE  ;  CH.  136. — 8.  n'prm  .  .  .  n.x-iini]  ©  has 
three  verbs  in  the  2nd  pi.  (under  the  influence  of  the  preceding  email) : 
but  v.^  shows  that  the  singulars  of  |§  are  original.  For  Dm3T  read  rnm 
with  Si ;  even  if  the  clause  containing  it  be  from  JE  the  2nd  sing,  is 
required:  cp.  3a.  5. — 10.  I'jnp'i]  G  «i  Hr\^''^;  note  xix'i  and,  according  to  G, 
•jiynts'  following;  and  in  v."  dti  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  K'ln:  in  v.^"  and 
the  pi.  subj.  of  "^npni  in  v.*. — DmCNn  nV  [V']  neither  jy  nor  \c».n  is  used  by  P  ; 
Corn.  ZATW.  xi.  29. 

14-2i  (JE).  The  Israelites  send  messengers  from  Kadesh 
to  the  king  of  Edom  asking  to  be  allowed  a  peaceful  passage 
through  his  country.  They  are  refused. — The  original  sequel 
to  this  passage  is  in  21*^- ^2-^^.  Refused  a  passage  across 
Edom,  the  Israelites  march  south  to  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of 
'Akabah,  pass  round  the  southern  end  of  Edom,  and  then, 
keeping  to  the  E.  of  Edom  and  Moab,  march  northwards  to 
Arnon:  cp.  Jud.  ii^^'-. 

It  is  probable  that  P  related  neither  the  petition  to  Edom,  nor  its 
rejection  ;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  in  entire  disagreement  from  the 
foregoing  story,  he  represented  the  Israelites  as  actually  crossing  the 
northern  end  of  Edom  in  their  passage  from  Kadesh  on  the  W.  to  the  E. 
of  the  'Arabah. 

The  present  passage,  which  is  intimately  connected  in  style  and 
motive  with  21"^^"^,  Jud.  ii^®'-'^,  is  clearly  derived  from  JE.  Note  the 
general  vividness  of  the  narrative  and  such  details  as  N3  in  v."  (16^  n.), 
pys  in  v.^®  (CH.  141.  23),  and  the  "angel"  in  v.^®.  JE  appears,  in  the 
main  at  least,  to  have  derived  the  incident  from  E;  so  Kue.  {Hex.  151), 
Me3'er  (ZATW.  i.  121),  Di.,  Str.,  Dr.,  Corn.,  Bacon.  The  conception  of 
the  "angel"  in  v.^^  is  E's  :  then  with  MntOiO  nifx  nx^nn-'ra  in  v.",  cp.  nx'jnrr'jD 
cn.xsa  iB'N  in  Ex.  18*  (E),  and  note  that  \m  =  to  sniffer,  permit  (v.^^),  occurs 
also  in  21^,  Gn.  20*  31'  (all  clearly  E)  and  22^^  (probably  the  same  source), 
twice  in  D  (Dt.  18^'*,  Jos.  10^^)  and  only  twice  besides  in  the  Hex.,  in 
Ex.  3^^  12^ — passages  v^-hich  are  perhaps  to  be  attributed  to  JE  rather 
than  J.      CH.  assign   v."-i8-2ia  to   E  and  v.^^'-^i"  to  J  ;   but  their  argu- 


XX.   14  265 

merit  is  inconclusive,  and  rests  in  part  on  the  hazardous  assumption  that 
v.2ia  (ly-ipa  •|j,.aii)  is  from  E  rather  than  P  (or  R).  We.  {Comp.  no),  ex- 
ceptionally, refers  the  passage  in  the  main  to  J,  but  on  the  wholly 
inadequate  ground  of  the  use  of  the  singular  pron.  of  the  nations. 

14.  And  Moses  sent  messengers\  the  sending-  of  messengers 
is  directly  attributed  to  the  whole  people  in  21^^,  Jud.  ii^'^-  ^^. 
— The  king  of  Edoni\  Hebrew  tradition  assigned  to  the 
monarchy  a  more  ancient  origin  in  Edom,  and,  indeed,  among 
many  of  the  neighbouring  peoples,  than  among  themselves  ; 
Gn.  36^^,  Nu.  22*,  I  S.  8^. — Thy  brother  Israel]  Edom  is 
Israel's  "brother";  consequently  also  an  individual  Israelite 
may  be  described  as  "brother"  of  an  Edomite ;  see  Dt.  2^ 
2^8(7)^  Ob.  ^°-^2,  Am.  i^^  The  mode  of  speech  shows  how 
closely  the  Hebrews  felt  themselves  to  be  connected  with 
the  Edomites.  Another  expression  of  the  same  feeling  is 
found  in  the  patriarchal  stories  where  Edom  =  Esau  is  the 
brother  of  Jacob  =  Israel. — Thou  knowest]  the  subj.  refers  to 
the  whole  people  of  Edom,  who  on  account  of  their  kinship 
are  expected  to  be  moved  by  this  recital  of  Israel's  sufferings 
and  deliverance,  rather  than  to  the  king  mentioned  in  clause  a. 
See  last  n.  So  thy  border,  thy  land,  in  v.^^'-,  is  the  border,  the 
land  of  Edom.  The  case  is  different  in  the  communications 
with  Sihon,  king  of  the  Amorites,  in  2i^^~^^. 

The  personification  of  a  whole  class  or  people  so  that  it  is  spoken 
of  or  represented  as  speaking  in  the  singular  is  frequent  in  Hebrew. 
In  these  cases  the  pronouns  referring  to  the  class  or  person  are  naturally 
in  the  singular,  though  rapid  transitions  to  and  from  plural  pronouns  are 
frequently  made,  as  in  the  present  passage  (v.'^).  The  result  in  some 
cases  is  so  strange  that  the  singular  pronouns  can  scarcely  be  retained 
in  an  English  translation  ;  in  RV.  the  pi.  is  frequently  substituted  for  the 
sing.  The  following  passages,  in  all  cases  literally  rendered,  may  serve 
as  illustrations  of  the  usage  :  "And  Egypt  said,  Let  me  flee"  (Ex,  14^); 
"And  the  man  of  Israel  said  unto  the  Hivite,  Perhaps  thou  art  dwelling 
in  my  midst"  (Jos.  9^);  "The  children  of  Joseph  spakeunto  Joshua,  saying, 
Why  hast  thou  given  me  but  one  inheritance  .  .  .  seeing  that  I  am  a 
numerous  people  ?  "  (Jos.  17"  :  cp.  v.^'"'^) ;  "  The  'Ekronites  cried  out,  say- 
ing, They  have  brought  about  the  ark  to  me  ...  to  slay  me  and  my 
people  "  (i  S.  510).  See  also  2ii-3-  ^,  Jud.  i',  2  S.  i9«(«).  All  the  foregoing 
are  from  early  prose  narrative.  The  same  usage  is  found  in  Deut.,  where 
all  Israel  is  constantly  addressed  as  "thou"  (see,  e.g.,  c.  8.  9),  and  not 
unnaturally  in  poetry:  see,  e.g.,  Lam.  i^^"--.  To  what  extent  the  "  I"  of 
the  Psalter  stands   for   Israel  is   disputed  :   it   obviously  does  so  in  Ps. 


266  NUMBERS 

129^"*.  See  Smend,  "Ueber  das  Ich  der  Psalmen"  in  ZATW.  1888,  pp. 
49-147  ;  G.  Beer,  Individual-  u.  Gemeinde-  Psalmen  ;  Driver,  L.O.T.  389- 
391,  The  usage  is  closely  connected  with  the  fact  that  the  characteristic 
and  original  names  of  nations  are  singulars  —  Moab,  Edom,  Israel, 
Midian,  Jerahme'el ;  ct. ,  in  Greek, 'I wees,  AloXeh,  Atapieis.  The  derivative 
eponyms — Ion,  Aeolus,  Dorus — of  the  Greeks  are  entirely  different  in 
character  from  Moab,  Edom,  etc.  See  We.  Reste  d.  arab.  Heidentums^ 
176  f.  ;  Nold.  in  ZDMG.  xl.  170  f.  ;  Smend,  Altlestamentliche  Religions- 
geschichte}  27.  In  the  light  of  the  usage  it  is  easy  to  see  that  it  was 
not  difficult  for  Hebrew  tribal  traditions,  though  generally  cast  in  the 
form  of  narratives  of  tribes  {e.g.  Israel  and  Edom  as  here),  to  assume 
also  the  form  of  narratives  of  individuals  (as,  e.g.,  of  Jacob  and  Esau). 

All  the  hardship]  ns^n ;  Ex.  iS^  (E),  Lam.  3^,  Neh.  9^2  f. 
The  vb.  nX-5  in  Hebrew  means  *'  to  be  weary  "  ;  the  noun  in  Lam. 
is  used  as  a  synonym  with  "gall." — 16.  And  Yahweh  sent  an 
angel]  Ex.  14^^*  23^°  32^^  (E).  The  ang-el  in  E  plays  the  same 
part  in  preventing  the  Egyptians  from  overtaking  the  Israelites 
as  the  pillar  of  cloud  in  J :  with  Ex.  i^^^^  (E),  ct.  v.^^^  (J).  The 
angel,  as  usual  in  earlier  writers,  is  theophanic  in  character; 
Yahweh  Himself  is  present  in  the  angel :  see  EBi.  s.v. 
"Theophany." — Kadesh,  a  city  on  the  edge  of  thy  territory] 
Kadesh  (13^°  n.)  lay  on  the  southern  border  and  within  the 
territory  of  Judah  (34*)  and  on  the  W.  border  of  Edom.  The 
earlier  attempt  to  gain  an  entrance  into  Canaan  from  the  S. 
(c.  13.  14)  left  Edom  unaffected;  but  in  order  to  get  into 
position  to  invade  Canaan  from  the  E.  the  Israelites  had 
either  to  traverse  Edom,  or  to  make  a  long  and  circuitous 
march.  The  territory  of  Edom,  as  the  present  statement 
most  clearly  shows,  and  as  Buhl  has  argued  at  length 
{Edomiter,  22-26),  extended  W.  of  the  'Arabah ;  the  north- 
western border  was  probably  formed  by  the  Wady  Fikreh 
which  runs  south-westwards  from  the  southern  end  of  the 
Dead  Sea. — 17.  Israel  promises,  if  suffered  to  traverse  Edom, 
to  keep  to  the  regular  road  without  molesting  the  cultivated 
land;  to  pass  through  the  country,  not  like  an  enemy,  but 
peaceably  like  traders,  paying  the  king's  toll,  and  for  all 
they  need  in  the  way  of  food  and  water  (cp.  v.^^).  The 
terms  of  the  v.,  which  are,  however,  repeated  in  reference  to 
the  Amorite  country  N.  of  Arnon  in  21^2,  refer  to  two  striking 
features — the  fertility  and  the  roads — of  Edom,  or  rather  of 


XX.  I6-I9  267 

the  territory  of  Edom  E.  of  the  'Arabah.  Speaking  of  this 
Palmer*  says:  "The  country  is  extremely  fertile  .  .  . 
goodly  streams  flow  through  the  valleys,  which  are  filled 
with  trees  and  flowers  ;  while  on  the  uplands  to  the  east 
rich  pasture  lands  and  corn  fields  may  everywhere  be  seen." 
A  story  in  the  Talmud  describes  the  astonishment  of  two 
Rabbis  visiting  Gebal  (the  N.  part  of  Edom)  at  the  size 
of  the  grapes  produced  there.!  At  a  later  period  Edom  was 
certainly  traversed  by  trade  routes  over  which  the  frank- 
incense from  S.  Arabia  and  other  commerce  to  and  from  the 
port  of  Elath  on  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah  were  carried,  and  it  can 
scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  trade  which  created  them  was 
very  ancient.  Some  ancient  through  route  (or  routes)  of 
this  kind  is  intended  by  the  term  the  king's  way. I  In  modern 
Palestine  such  a  through  route  is  known  by  the  name  of  the 
cfarb  es-sultdn  or  "Sultan's  way."  But  neither  the  term  here 
used  nor  n^DD  in  v.^^  implies  that  the  route  was  a  thoroughly 
made  and  well-kept  road.§  Such  roads  hardly  existed  before 
Roman  times.  The  earlier  roads  were  scarcely  better  than 
the  modern  "Sultan's  roads,"  one  of  which  is  described  by 
Seetzen  (ii.  336)  as  an  almost  invisible  path,  rocky  and 
stony. — 18.  Edom  refuses  Israel's  request,  and  threatens  to 
meet  any  attempt  to  traverse  the  country  with  armed  re- 
sistance.— 19.  The  Israelites  repeat  their  peaceable  inten- 
tions. The  repetition  may  possibly  be  the  result  of  the 
fusion  of  J  and  E  :  see  above.  The  speech  begins  in  the 
plural  we  will  go  up,  but  passes  over  to  the  singular  /  {i.e. 
Israel)  ajid  my  cattle:  see  on  v.^*. — Only — it  is  no  matter  of 
offence  or  annoyance  (cp.  i  S.  20^^) — on  my  feet  would  I  pass 
through,  i.e.  as  ordinary,  peaceful  foot-passengers:  cp.  Ps. 
66^,  Jud.  4^'^.  Cp.  Dt.  2^^.  According  to  iGr  the  request  of 
v.^^  is  a  modification  of  that  in  v.^^.  At  first  the  Israelites 
ask   permission    to  pass   through   Edom  (TrapeXevao/xeOa   Sm 

*  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  430  f.:  cp.  Buhl,  Gcsch.  der  Edomiter^  p.  15, 
with  the  literature  there  cited. 

t  Ketuboth  112a,  cited  by  Neubauer,  Gdographie  du  Talmud,  67. 

X  On  ancient  routes  throug-h  Edom,  see  Buhl,  Gesch.  der  Edomifer,  44, 
18  ;  G.  A.  Smith  in  EBi.  art.  "  Trade  and  Commerce,"  §  32f. 

§  Cp.  Nowack,  Arch.  i.  151  f.  ;  otherwise,  Buhl,  Geog.  126. 


268  NUMBERS 

tt}?  77)9  (Tov  .  .  .  ew?  av  TrapekOwfxev  7a  opia  (70v) ;  on  being 
refused  this,  they  ask  permission  to  pass  along  the  borders 
of  Edom  [irapa  to  opo<;  TrapeXeuao/xeda). — 20,  21.  Again 
refused,  Israel  turns  away  from  Edom  in  order,  as  the  con- 
tinuation of  JE  in  21*  explains,  to  turn  the  southern  extremity 
of  Edom.  V.2*'  and  v.^^*  are  in  substance  identical,  and  may 
be  from  different  sources  (v.^^  J  :  v.-^^  E).' 

The  traditions  as  to  the  early  relations  between  Israel  and  Edom  are 
to  a  large  extent  cast  in  the  form  of  patriarchal  stories ;  cp.  the  small 
print  n.  on  p.  2655.  Among  these  stories  of  Esau  (  =  Edom)  and  Jacob 
(  =  Israel),  the  account  of  the  meeting  of  Esau  and  Jacob  in  Gn,  32  forms 
in  some  respects  a  striking  parallel  to  the  foregoing  narrative.  In  Gn., 
it  is  true,  the  story  concludes  by  bringing  the  two  brothers  into  friendly 
relations  with  one  another;  but  such  a  conclusion  is  as  little  anticipated 
by  the  reader  as  by  Jacob  himself,  when  on  first  learning  of  Esau's 
advance  with  four  hundred  men  (Gn,  32'^  f^*^*,  cp.  y.^ob  here)  he  prepares 
for  the  worst  (Gn.  32*''^  (^'"').  There,  as  here,  on  approaching  the  land 
of  Edom,  Jacob  (  =  Israel)  sends  messengers  to  find  favour  for  him  with 
his  brother  Esau  (  =  Edom) ;  the  messengers  are  repulsed  (Gn.  32'' (^)),  and 
return  to  Jacob  with  the  news  of  Esau's  hostile  intent.  Cp.  Steuernagel, 
Die  £ifiwandcrung- d.  tsraellh'schen  S/dmmen,  105. 

D  does  not  refer  to  the  present  incident,  but  in  Dt.  2^"^  relates  that 
subsequently,  on  the  northward  march  E.  of  the  'Arabah,  Israel  did 
actually  cross  a  part  of  Edom  in  the  same  peaceable  way  which  they 
here  seek  in  vain  to  pursue.  The  two  stories  are  not  necessarily  incom- 
patible, but  it  is  impossible  to  determine  what  amount  of  historic  fact 
lies  at  the  basis  of  the  stories,  or  how  far  they  merely  reflect  later  rela- 
tions between  the  two  peoples. 

In  all  these  traditions  there  are  two  common  and  fundamental  assump- 
tions :  I.  that  the  Edomites  were  more  ancient  than  the  Israelites  ;  2. 
that  they  already  occupied  the  country  in  and  about  the  'Arabah,  subse- 
quently called  by  their  name,  at  the  time  of  the  immigration  of  Israel  into 
Canaan.  Certain  passages  in  early  Egyptian  sources  have  a  bearing  on 
these  assumptions.  It  was  for  long  supposed  that  Edom  was  mentioned 
in  the  romance  of  Sinuhit  (Dyn.  xii.  :  before  B.C.  2000);  but  the  name 
formerly  transliterated  Eduma  (Sayce,  Higher  Crit.  and  the  Monuments, 
203)  should  be  read  hdm  —  u^p  (E.  Meyer,  Gesch.  Aeg.  182;  W.  Max 
Miiller,  Asien  u.  Eicropa,  46).  On  the  other  hand,  tlie  identification  of 
'A-du-ma  in  Pap.  Anastasi  vi.  4^^  (c.  1300  B.C.)  with  Edom,  though 
questioned  by  Winckler  {Gesch.  Isr,  189 f.)  and  Cheyne  {EBi.  1182),  is 
generally  admitted.  In  this  document  the  request  is  made  by  an  Egyptian 
official  that  "the  Bedawin  tribes  (tribes  of  Sa-su)  (belonging  to  the  land) 
of  'A-du-ma"  be  allowed  to  pasture  on  the  N.E.  frontier  of  Egypt  (Max 
Miiller,  op.  cit.  135).  Rameses  in.  (about  B.C.  1200)  relates:  "I  inflicted 
a  defeat  on  the  Sa-'a-Vra  belonging  to  the  Bedawin  tribes."  The  equiva- 
lence of  Sa-'a-ira  with  Dn'i't'  (the  inhabitants  of  Mt.  Seir)  is  not  questioned. 


XX.    20—22  269 

Max  ^luUer  (op.  cit,  136  f.)  argues  that  this  excludes  the  possibility  that 
the  Edomites  had  up  to  that  time  occupied  Mt.  Seir.  If  his  arg-unient 
were  admitted,  the  placing-  of  Edomites  in  and  about  the  'Arabah  in  the 
Biblical  stories  would  be  an  anachronism.  But  against  the  vaHdity  of 
his  argument,  see  Nold.  in  EBi.  s.v.  "  Edom,"  §  3.  6 ;  Buhl,  Gescli.  d. 
Edomiter,  53.  Further  evidence  may  yet  come  to  light :  what  exists  at 
present,  unless  the  identification  of  'A-du-ma  =  Edom,  be  denied,  proves 
the  existence  of  the  name  Edom  at  or  prior  to  the  time  of  the  Hebrew 
immigration  :  it  neither  proves  nor  at  all  clearly  or  necessarily  disproves 
that  Edomites  already  occupied  the  country  later  known  by  their  name. 

H.  TDK  na  .  .  .  C'^xSd  .  .  .  nhta'^]  cp.  Gn.  32'"-  (JE):  .13  + some  part  of 
noN  with  a  human  or  (as  so  frequently  in  the  prophets)  a  divine  subject  is 
very  characteristic  of  JE  as  contrasted  with  P:  see  CH.  87  and  222. — 
n^T  nnN]  the  expression  of  the  pronominal  subject  with  yT  is  characteristic 
of  JE  :  CH.  174.— 16.  l'?i33  nsp]  cp.  22*®;  ^13J  in  these  vv.  is  clearly  used 
not  of  the  boundary  or  border,  but,  as  often  (BDB.  sv.  h^^2:^  2),  of  the 
territory  enclosed  with  borders.  Hence  we  have  the  alternative  ex- 
pressions -:i-)K3  N3  mnyj,  -[hii  layj  (v.^^),  '3  nnyn  (v.^^),  1S3J3  lay  (y.^^).  r\^;:  is 
here  used  of  the  border  or  boundary:  cp.  nmnn  nsp  Ex.  13^^,  px  nsp  Ex. 
i635.— 17.  D^3a^  mtj'a]  cp.  16^^  2122.— 21.  jh^]  G.-K.  66i;  the  same  form 
occurs  in  Gn.  38^  (J) ;  E  elsewhere  uses  peculiar  infinitive  forms ;  see 
phil.  notes  on  22^^**. — "i2j;]  is  one  of  the  two  accusatives  (Dav.  90c)  governed 
by  \n  ;  cp.  Job  9'^ ;  but  as  both  here  and  in  21^*  nay  is  preceded  by  a  word 
ending  in  h,  we  should  perhaps  restore  nay"? :  so  Paterson  in  SBOT. 

22-29.  Arrival  at  Mt.  Hor ;  death  of  Aaron,  and  investiture 
of  Ele'azar  (P). 

Apart  from  v.^-*  the  whole  section  is  clearly  derived  from  P^ ;  with  v.** 
cp.  v.i^'-  (P),  and  generally  Dt.  32***  (P);  see  also  Nu.  33^^"^"  (P^);  and  note, 
e.g.,  rr^vn  (i^  n.)  v.^^.  29 .  ,,,-.y  ^^  r]DN' v.^*;  yij  v.^s ;  see  L.O.T.  pp.  131,  133 
(Nos.  256  and  9).  Mt.  Hor  (v. 22'.  25. 27  2i4  3387-39. 46^  Dt_  ^^^^  jg  referred  to 
only  by  P.  It  has  been  questioned  whether  v. 22a  is  from  P,  on  the  ground 
that  he  would  have  written  cip  nancD  (cp.  27"),  or  js  nancD  (v.^)  rather 
than  K'lpD  ;  hence  some  [e.g.  Di.)  refer  the  clause  to  R  ;  others,  in  view  of 
U'D'i  (ct.  2i^2t.)  more  questionably,  toE(CH.).  In  any  case  v. 2^  suffices  to 
show  that,  according  to  P&,  Mt.  Hor  was  reached  after  leaving  Kadesh. 

The  continuation  of  P's  narrative  is  to  be  found  in  21^*-  ^'"* 
22^.  In  one  respect  certainly,  and  probably  in  two,  it  conflicts 
with  other  Hebrew  traditions.  It  makes  Mt.  Hor  the  scene 
of  Aaron's  death,  whereas  according-  to  E  that  event  took 
place  at  Moserah  (Dt.  10"),  and  it  appears  to  imply  that  the 
Israelites  marched  straight  across  Edom  to  the  E.  of  Jordan 
instead  of  making  a  circuit  of  Edom,  as  according  to  anolhei 
tradition  they  did  (see  above  on  v.^*"^!). 


2/0  NUMBERS 

22.  The  children  of  Israel,  all  the  congregatwn\  v.^  n. — 
To  Hor  the  7noiintain\  the  site  is  unknown  ;  but  since  it  is 
situated,  like  Kadesh,  on  the  border  of  the  land  of  Edom 
(v.-^  33^^)>  the  traditional  site,  near  Petra,  which  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  country  of  Edom,  is  certainly  wrong-.  Some 
recent  scholars  have  identified  Jebel  Madurah  with  Mt.  Hor ; 
this  is  described  as  "around  isolated  hill,"  and  lies  a  short 
day's  journey  S.  of  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Wady  eUFikreh,  which  may  have  formed 
the  N.W.  boundary  of  Edom  (v.^^  n.).  The  site  satisfies  the 
conditions  of  the  text ;  it  was  on  the  border  of  Edom,  and, 
like  the  site  of  Moses'  death,  near  the  land  of  promise;  but 
the  data  are  insufficient  to  render  the  identification  certain. 
Jebel  Madurah  lies  N.E.  of  'Ain  el-Kadis  (Kadesh),  and 
therefore  on  the  route  which  would  naturally  be  followed  in 
marching-  direct  from  Kadesh  across  Edom. 

Clay  Trumbull  {Kadesh-Barnea,  127-139)  has  argued  at  length  for  the 
identification  of  Jebel  Madurah  and  Mt.  Hor  ;  but,  from  a  critical  stand- 
point, much  of  his  argument  is  vitiated  by  his  indiscriminate  use  of  the 
various  sources.  Further,  his  attempt  to  identify  the  names  Madurah 
'j  ilV^)  and  Moserah  (n"ipb)  in  Dt.  10*  is  philologically  most  hazardous. 
For  other  descriptions  of  Jebel  Madurah,  see  Seetzen,  Reisen,  iii.  14  ff; 
Robinson,  BR,  ii.  589;  Palmer,  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  415  f. — The  tradi- 
tional site  was  determined  by  the  erroneous  traditional  identification  of 
Petra  and  I<adesh.  Josephus  {Ant.  iv.  4'')  already  places  Aaron's  death 
near  Petra.  Jerome's  note  in  the  Onomasticon  runs:  "Or  mons  in  quo 
mortuus  est  Aaron  juxta  civitatem  Petram,  ubi  usque  ad  prassentem  diem 
ostenditur  rupes  qua  percussa  Moyses  aquas  populo  dedit."  Similarly 
Eusebius  ;  Lagarde,  Ono?n.'^  pp.  175,  291.  The  tradition  is  perpetuated 
in  the  modern  Arabic  name  of  a  mountain  near  Petra,  the  Jebel  Nebi 
HarQn  (described  by  Palmer,  op,  cit.  433  f.,  520;  Robinson,  BR.  ii. 
651-653). 

23.  Mt.  Hor  on  the  border  of  the  land  of  Edom]  p)2i  b]} 
mx  px) ;  cp.  "  on  the  edge  {r[)>p2)  of  the  land  of  Edom,"  33^'^. 
Since  in  both  places  Mt.  Hor  is  mentioned  immediately  after 
Kadesh,  which  lay  on  the  W.  of  Edom,  it  is  on  the  western 
border  of  Edom,  whose  territory  stretched  westwards  of  the 
'Arabah,  and  therefore  far  beyond  Petra,  that  we  must  seek 
Mt.  Hor. — 24.  Shall  be  gathered  to  Jiis  kinsmen\  The  word, 
rendered  in  AV.  "people,"  is  plural  (VDy),  and  denotes  "one 


XX.  22-XXI.  X  271 

of  the  same  kin,"  in  Arabic  {^^)  "one  of  the  father's  kin"; 
in  this  and  similar  phrases  (e.g:  "to  lie  with  one's  fathers") 
used  of  death,  earlier  writers  use  the  synonymous  term 
"fathers";  see,  e.^.,  Jud.  2^*^,  1  K.  i^i  1431 ;  and  for  further 
references,  BDB.  s.v.  2X  4. — Because  ye  rebelled  against  My 
commandment]  ("iQ,  cp.  10^^) :  an  allusion  to  the  story  pre- 
served, though  probably  only  in  a  distorted  form,  in  v.'''"^^ ; 
see  above,  p.  261  f.  In  what  Aaron's  sin  consisted  is  certainly 
obscure ;  it  is  described  by  the  same  term  as  here  in  27^^,  by 
a  milder  one  in  v.^^,  and  by  the  specifically  priestly  term  ^yo 
be  faithless  {f)  m  Dt.  32^1  (also  P).— 26.  Strip  Aaron  of  his 
garments]  his  official  garments,  as  described  in  Lev.  8'^"^,  are 
evidently  intended  ;  clothed  in  these  Ele'azar  descends  from  the 
mountain  as  Aaron's  successor  in  the  high  priesthood  (v. 2^^-). 

28.  It  is  not  explicitly  stated  where  Aaron  was  buried 
(cp.  Dt.  34^),  but  obviously  popular  tradition  regarded  the  top 
of  Mt.  Hor  as  the  site.  The  modern  Bedawin  have  a  great 
liking  for  being  buried  on  mountain  tops,  and  sometimes  the 
body  of  a  distinguished  person  is  brought  three  or  four  days 
out  of  the  steppe  that  it  may  be  so  buried.  According  to  a 
statement  made  to  Wetzstein,  they  believe  that  thus  buried 
they  retain  their  union  with  their  tribe,  if  from  the  mountain 
top  they  can  look  out  over  the  tribal  camp.* — 29.  The  people 
mourn  for  Aaron  30  days :  cp.  Dt.  34^  (P). 

22.  ann  -h]  this  peculiar  order  and  cstr.  is  always  found  with  this 
phrase  (even  when  the  northern  Mt.  Hor  is  intended,  see  54''')  '■>  ct. 
"ro  in,  'ra'V  ^•^,  etc. ;  see  Kon.  ii.  333M.  v. — 24.  voy]  S  icv;  the  versions  also 
have  the  sing. — 23.  <&  adds  ^vavn  -n-dcn)^  t^s  awayayy^s :  cp.  v.-^  ^. — 
26.  ec-s.-n]  S  nsc'sm.— 27.  1V1]  S  (G)  i-"?;-! ;  G^  =  d^tm  cp.  v.^sflj. 

XXI.  1-3.  Hormah. — The  Canaanites  of  the  Negeb  (under 
the  king  of  'Arad,  a  place  some  50  or  60  miles  almost  due 
N.  of  Kadesh),  hearing  of  Israel's  advance  in  the  direction  of 
their  territory  take  the  offensive,  fight  against  Israel,  and 
take  some  of  them  captive.  Israel  vow  to  Yaluvch,  if  granted 
revenge,  to  place  the  Canaanite  cities  under  the  ban  (herem). 

*  Wetzstein,  Reisehericht  iiber  Hauran  und  die  Trachonen,  26  ;  see  also 
Baudissin  in  PREJ^  viii.  183  ;  We.  Reste  des  arad.  Heiden/ums,^  15  f. 


272  NUMBERS 

Success  is  granted  them,  the  ban  is  put  into  force,   and  the 
region  or  city  (?  'Arad)  is  consequently  called  Hormah  (Ban). 

It  has  long  been  recognised  that  the  section  is,  in  part  at 
least,  out  of  place,  and  does  not  refer,  as  from  the  position 
which  the  compiler  has  given  it  it  should  do,  to  the  period 
spent  at  Mt.  Hor  (20^^  21*),  nor,  indeed,  to  any  time  im- 
mediately before  the  Israelites  took  their  departure  to  the 
E.  of  Jordan.  For  why,  as  Reland  [Palesiina,  s.v.  "  Chorma  ") 
pertinently  asked,  should  they  abandon  the  country  in  the  S. 
of  Canaan  W.  of  the  'Arabah,  in  which  they  had  just  proved 
themselves  victorious  ?  It  has  been  frequently  considered  a 
sufficient  solution  to  regard  v.^  as  a  parenthetic  anticipation 
of  Jud.  i^^-^'^.  Yet  the  last  thing  that  ought  to  be  said  of 
v.^  is  that  it  is  "evidently"  parenthetical.*  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  no  indication  whatever  that  the  writer  regarded 
Israel's  success  as  far  removed  in  time  from  the  defeat.  It  is 
more  satisfactory  to  assume  that  the  whole  section,  though 
already  found  in  its  present  position  by  the  compiler  of  33 
(see  v.*°),  is  badly  placed. 

It  is  difficult  to  reach  any  certain  conclusion  as  to  the  original  position 
of  the  section.  The  style,  from  which  all  marks  of  P  are  absent,  but 
which  is  marked  by  some  characteristics  of  JE,  such  as  a  crhi,  h^pi  j?ct;', 
proves  that  it  is  not  derived  from  P,  and,  consequently,  that  the  assign- 
ment of  the  incident  to  the  stay  at  Mt.  Hor  is  no  older  than  the  editor  who 
united  P  and  JE.  Further,  the  story  did  not,  even  in  JE,  stand  after  20^^ 
and  before  21* ;  for  that  passage  speaks  of  the  Hebrews  taking  a  southern 
course  from  Kadesh  ;  the  present  incident  implies  that  they  were  moving 
towards  the  Negeb,  which  lies  N.  of  Kadesh.  As  between  the  two 
sources  J  and  E,  ':y:3n  (v. 3)  favours  referring  the  passage  to  the  former. 

As  to  the  relation  between  the  present  passage,  14*'  and  Jud.  i^^'-, 
Moore  {Judg,  36)  considers  that  the  present  passage  has  no  connection 
with  Jud.  i'^'*,  but  is  a  parallel  and  different  explanation  of  the  name 
Hormah.  Steuemagel  {Einwanderung,  76  f.),  on  the  other  hand,  considers 
all  three  passages  scattered  fragments  of  one  and  the  same  narrative, 
which  immediately  followed  the  narrative  of  the  spies  and,  in  its  original 
form,  described  how  Judah  (cp.  Judges),  which  took  no  part  in  the  con- 
quest of  Canaan  from  the  E.,  gained  its  footing  in  Western  Canaan  from 
the  S.  The  present  passage,  on  this  theory,  generalises  a  tradition  which 
originally  related  to  only  a  section  of  Israel,  and  makes  it  apply  to  the 
whole  people. 

*  Palmer,  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  522, 


XXI.  I,  3  273 

1.  TJie  Canaanite,  the  king-  of  'Anid,  toJio  dwelt  in  the 
Negeh\  the  king  of  'Arad  may  be  an  interpolation,  for  (i)  the 
personal  title  is  strang-e  after  the  collective  national  term, 
which  alone  is  subsequently  referred  to  {this  people,  v.^;  them 
and  their  cities,  v.^) ;  and  (2)  after  the  mention  of 'Arad,  which 
is  situated  in  the  Neg-eb,  the  clause  who  divelt  in  the  Negcb 
would  be  redundant.  See  also  on  v. 2.  With  the  Canaajiite 
who  dwelt  in  the  Negeb,  cp.  "the  Canaanite  dwelt  in  the 
valley"  (14^^);  see  also  14^^. — The  king  of'Arad\  also  men- 
tioned (immediately  after  the  king-  of  Hormah)  in  Jos.  12^^. 
'Arad,  according-  to  Jerome  {Onoin.  88"),  lay  20  Roman  miles 
S.  of  Hebron.  The  name  survives  in  Tell  'Arad,  which  lies 
17  English  miles  almost  due  S.  of  Hebron,*  about  30  miles 
due  N.  of  Jebel  Madurah,  and  about  50  miles  N.N.E.  of  'Ain 
Kadis  (Kadesh). — The  way  of  [the)  Atharim]  Atharim  (D''"inNn) 
seems  to  be  a  proper  name.  Di.'s  view,  that  the  whole  phrase 
means  the  "caravan  route,"  is  not  very  probable,  and  "the 
way  of  the  spies  "  (AV.  after  ST,  etc.)  must  be  abandoned  ;  see 
phil.  n. — 2.  Them  I  will  devote]  or  place  under  the  ban,  and 
so  destroy;  cp.  18^*  n.  T\\q.  wz.xx\q,  Hormah  \s  here  explained 
as  a  place  that  had  been  laid  under  the  ban  and  destroyed, 
though,  like  the  similar  names  Hermon  and  H5rem,  it  may 
actually  have  acquired  the  sacred  or  inviolable  character  which 
is  implied  by  the  name  in  some  other  way. — And  the  name  of 
the  district  was  called  Hormali\  In  Jud.  1^^  it  is  distinctly 
stated  that  Hormah  was  the  name  given  to  a  city,  and  that 
the  former  name  of  the  city  was  Sephath.  It  is  commonly 
supposed  that  the  present  passage  also  asserts  that  the  name 
Hormah  was  given  to  a  city ;  then  the  city  should  be  *Arad 
(v.^) ;  yet  in  Jos.  12^*  Hormah  and  'Arad  are  distinct  cities. 
But  the  term  Qlpo,  though  it  may  be  used  of  a  city,  may  also 
refer  to  a  wider  area  including  many  cities  :  e.g.  it  is  usied  of 
the  whole  land  of  Canaan  (Ex.  23-*^,  i  S.  12^;  cp.  CH.  65^^). 
In  the  present  instance,  after  the  preceding-  clause,  aiid  they 
devoted  them  (the  Canaanites)  and  their  cities,  it  is  most 
natural  to  take  DIpD  in  the  wider  sense.     In  Jos.  12^^  15^'^  19*, 

*  Robinson,    Biblical  Researches,  ii.  473;    Smith,   Hist.  Geog.  278  f.  ; 
EBi.  s.v.  "  Arad." 


2  74  NUMBERS 

I  S.  30^'',  I  Ch.  4'^*,  Hormah  (without  the  art.  as  here  and  in 

Jud.  i^'^)  is    mentioned   amongf  a   number   of  cities;    but   in 

from  Se'ir  to  Hormah  (Dt.  i**  (5)  it  may  well  be,  like  Se'ir,  the 

name  of  a  district;  cp.  the  Hormah  in  14^^. 

1,  D'lriN.T  l-n]  ffi  {'Adapeiv(iJ.))  certainly  and,  in  all  probability,  the  other 
versions  also  presuppose  the  present  text  of  p?.  The  rendering-  the  way 
of  the  spies  {Si  ST  5J,  Sam.  V.,  Aq.,  Symm.)  is  due  to  the  resemblance  of 
cnnx  and  nnn ;  but  there  is  no  philological  connection  between  the  two 
words.      Di.'s  suggestion  noted  above  rests  on  a  comparison  with  the 

Arabic  J  \  =  a  trace,  sign.      Cheyne  in  EBi.  (2651  n.  5)  proposes  nn  yn 

nOK. — 2.  Dnny  nx  'ncinni]   (U  dvade/ianw  airrbv  Kal  tcls  7r6Xets  a&rov;  cp.   v.* 
pj.— 3.  '3y33n]  Add  with  S  (S  (cp.  S)  n'3;  cp.  v.^  ^.— Dnnx]  see  BDB.  846. 

4-9.  The  bronze  serpent  (JE). — The  people  complain  of  the 
unsatisfying  manna  and  of  the  lack  of  water.  Yahweh 
plag-ues  them  with  serpents.  At  the  people's  request,  Moses 
intercedes  with  Yahweh,  who  instructs  him  to  make  an  arti- 
ficial serpent,  and  set  it  on  a  pole.  Moses  makes  the  serpent 
of  bronze  and  sets  it  on  a  pole ;  and  every  one  suffering  from 
a  serpent-bite  who  looks  at  it  is  healed. 

V.^  {and  they  journeyed  from  Mt.  Hor)  is  taken  directly  from,  or  com- 
posed by  the  editor  in  the  manner  of,  P.  The  rest  of  the  passag-e  is  from 
JE,  and,  probably,  in  particular  from  E.  V.**"  continues  20^^  (E),  and 
explains  how,  on  the  Edomites'  refusal  to  give  Israel  passage  through 
their  country,  they  gained  their  purpose  of  g^etting-  E.  of  Jordan.  With 
11D  D'  ^^^  cp.  14^"',  Ex.  13'^  (E),  Dt.  i^"  2^  Whether  the  story  of  the  bronze 
serpent  stood  in  its  present  position  in  JE,  or  was  placed  there  by  the 
editor,  cannot  be  determined.  Characteristic  of  JE  are  rh^r\  (of  the 
Exodus)  in  v.B  (cp.  14"  16";  CH.  136);  B'3n  v.^  (cp.  128  23^1  ;  CH.  179); 
"j^snn  V.'' **^  (cp.  ii^n.)     The  last  word,  as  also  D'hVn  in  v.^  and  perhaps 

3  n3T  in  v.^  (cp.  12^  (E)),  point  to  E,  to  which  source  the  passage  is  re- 
ferred by  Di.,  Kue.,  Bacon,  Kit.,  CH. 

From  a  notice  in  the  Book  of  Kings  (2  K.  iS^),  it  appears 
that  in  the  8th  century  B.C.  the  "bronze  serpent"  was  an 
object  of  popular  worship  in  Judah :  the  people  burnt  sacri- 
fices (Q'lDpD)  to  it.  It  was  therefore  destroyed  by  Hezekiah, 
who  acted,  as  we  may  suppose,  under  the  influence  of  Isaiah's 
iconoclastic  teaching  (Is.  2^  17^  30^^  o^^)'  The  notice  in  the 
Book  of  Kings  agrees  with  the  present  in  attributing  to  Moses 
the  manufacture  of  the  serpent. 

The  relation  between  these  two  notices  may  be  regarded 
in  two  ways.     Either  [a)   the   present  passage    records    the 


XXI.  4-9  2  75 

actual  orig-In  of  the  bronze  serpent,  and  the  symbol,  origin- 
ally erected  by  Moses  without  idolatrous  intent,  came  to  be 
an  object  of  idolatrous  worship;  or  (b)  Nu.  21*"^  is  an 
etiological  story  told  to  explain  a  symbol  that  actually  owed 
its  origin  to  other  than  Yahwistic  belief.  The  acceptance  or 
rejection  of  explanation  (a),  which  is  adopted,  for  example, 
by  Strack,  will  be  largely  determined  by  the  general  con- 
clusion as  to  the  date  and  historical  value  of  the  Pentateuchal 
sources :  it  need  only  be  pointed  out  here  that  the  story 
contains  no  adequate  explanation  of  the  choice  of  this  par- 
ticular form  of  miracle,  nor  of  how  the  Israelite  nomads  on 
the  march  were  in  a  position  to  manufacture,  with  the  speed 
which  the  circumstances  demanded,  so  important  a  work  in 
metal.  Explanation  {b),  which  is  now  very  generally  adopted, 
accords  with  a  general  tendency  in  religion  to  endeavour  to 
impart  new  and  more  appropriate  significance  to  incongruous 
rites  and  practices  which  happen  to  possess  a  great  hold  on 
the  people  :  cp.  p.  48. 

Beliefs  in  the  connection  between  the  serpent  and  healing, 
which,  if  the  present  story  is  rightly  regarded  as  etiological 
in  character,  must  have  been  recognised  by  the  Hebrews, 
are  widespread.  A  conspicuous  instance  is  the  Greek  god 
of  healing,  Asklepios,  who  is  said  to  have  appeared  in  the 
form  of  a  serpent,  and  is  constantly  represented  accom- 
panied by  serpents.*  Possibly  another  trace  of  such  a  belief 
among  the  Hebrews  may  be  found  in  "  the  Dragon's  spring" 
(":n  py  Neh.  2^^),  for  the  "Arabs  still  regard  medicinal 
waters  as  inhabited  by  the  j'l'jm,  which  are  usually  of 
serpent  form."  f 

Whatever  its  origin,  the  mass  of  the  Hebrew  people  came 
to  attribute  healing  power  to  the  bronze  serpent  itself.  Not 
so  those  who  had  come  under  the  higher  prophetic  teaching 
among  whom,  at  some  time  prior  to  Hezekiah,  this  story 
must  have  been  framed  to  controvert  the  popular  belief,  and 

*  Pausanias,  Descriptioji  of  Greece,  li.  10.  3 ;  and  see  Frazer's  o.  on 
ii.  10.  3  (vol.  iii.  65-67),  where  parallels  from  Greek  and  Roman  writers 
and  wider  fields  may  be  found. 

t  W.  R.  Smith,  Rd.  of  the  Semiies,-  16S. 


276  NUMBERS 

to  trace  back  the  power  of  healing-  to  Yahweh  Himself,  who, 
as  the  prophets  taught,  both  bruised  and  healed  (see,  e.g., 
Hos.  6^  11',  and  compare  such  stories  as  that  of  the  healing 
of  Naaman  (2  K.  5)).  The  point  of  the  story  is  clearly  seized 
by  the  author  of  Wisdom ;  the  bronze  serpent  is  a  crvfi^dXov 
crcoTrjpCa'i,  and  "he  that  turned  toward  it  was  not  saved 
because  of  that  which  was  beheld,  but  because  of  thee,  the 
Saviour  of  all "  (Wisd.  i6«f-). 

In  later  times  the  story  readily  lent  itself  to  allegorizing-.  To  Pliilo 
the  serpent  erected  by  Moses  is  Kaprepia,  patient  endurance  (the  metal 
symbolising-  strength) ;  this  is  equal  to  overcoming  pleasure,  which  is  the 
real  meaning  of  the  serpent  who  tempted  Eve  {De  Alleg.  ii.  20  (Mangey, 
80) ;  De  Agricul.  22  (Mangey,  315)).  Less  elaborate  is  ihe  explanation  in 
Rosh  hash-Shanah  iii.  8.  The  allusion  in  Jn.  3^^  has  given  rise  to  a 
large  typological  literature,  for  which  see  references  in  Winer,  Bibl. 
Realworterbiich,  s.v.  "  Schlange,  Eherne." 

The  place  of  the  serpent  in  Semitic  and  especially  Hebrew  religion 
has  been  fully  discussed  by  Baudissin  in  Studien  zicr  seinit.  Religions- 
geschichte,  i.  257-292.  The  data  are  insufficient  to  justify  any  certain 
inference  as  to  the  actual  origin  of  the  cult  of  the  bronze  serpent.  In  view 
of  the  slight  influence  of  Egyptian  religion  on  the  Hebrews  it  is  unlikely 
that  the  cult  of  the  serpent  is  of  Egyptian  origin.  Of  various  other  views 
that  have  been  held,  two  or  three  may  be  mentioned,  (i)  W.  R.  Smith 
{Journal  of  Philology,  ix.  99  f.)  argued  that  the  serpent  was  originally  a 
totem  symbol,  and  that  other  traces  of  the  serpent  as  a  totem  were  to  be 
found  in  certain  proper  names  (on  which  see  also  HPN.  p.  88  if.,  Nos. 
24,  44,  45,  and  p.  108  if.,  Nos.  3  and  9).  (2)  Cheyne  in  EBi.  s.v. 
"  Nehushtan,"  has  skilfully  argued  that  the  "bronze  serpent"  in  the 
temple,  like  the  "bronze  oxen"  and  "the  sea,"  was  a  symbol  connected 
with  the  Babylonian  dragon  myth  which  certainly  has  left  its  mark  on 
Hebrew  mythology  (Gunkel,  Schopfung  u.  Chaos,  esp.  pp.  29-114);  see 
also  Zimmem,  Die  Keilinschriften  u.  das  ^2',^  505.  (3)  Frazer  {GB.  ii. 
426  f.)  cites  the  present  story  in  connection  with  the  custom  of  getting  rid 
of  vermin  by  making  images  of  them.  Thus  the  Philistines,  when  their 
land  was  infested  by  mice  (i  S.  5®  ffi),  made  golden  images  of  the 
creatures,  and  sent  them  out  of  the  country.  "  Apollonius  of  Tyana  is 
said  to  have  freed  Antioch  from  scorpions  by  making  a  bronze  image  of 
a  scorpion,  and  burying  it  under  a  small  pillar  in  the  middle  of  the  city. 
Gregory  of  Tours  tells  us  that  the  city  of  Paris  used  to  be  free  of  dor- 
mice and  serpents,  but  that  in  his  lifetime,  while  they  were  cleaning  a 
sewer,  they  found  a  bronze  serpent  and  a  bronze  dormouse,  and  removed 
them,"  whereafter  they  abounded.  See  also  Jacob,  Altarab.  Parallelen 
zum  AT,  p.  II,  who  cites  instances  from  Kazwlni  (ii.  369,  373),  and 
amongst  others  the  case  of  a  well  near  Toledo  which  became  infested 
with  leeches :  a  bronze  leech  was  cast  into  the  well  and  the  real  things 
disappeared. 


XXI.   4-6  277. 

4.  And  they  set  out  from  Mt.  Hot^  the  clause  connects  the 
narrative  of  P  (20^^"^^  21^°*-),  now  interrupted  by  the  insertion 
of  two  passag-es  from  JE  (21^-2- ■^^~'^).  With  p  '1J?D''1,  cp.  v.^^f- 
(ct.  v.i2ff-)  1012,  Ex.  1320  16I  17I  (P).— 4a  /8.  The  continuation 
of2o2^(JE):  the  original  source  ran — And  Israel  turned  wwav 
fi'om  him  (i.e.  Edom  :  20-^)  by  the  way  of  Yam  Siiph  to  compass 
the  land  of  Edom.  They  went  southwards  from  Kadesh,  which 
was  on  the  boundary  of  Edom  (20^^),  to  pass  round  the  southern 
extremity  of  Edom  to  the  E.  ;  cp,  Jud.  ii^'^-  ^^.  On  the  way  of 
Yam  Suph,  see  14"^  n. — 4b,  5.  The  people,  unable  to  restrain 
their  impatience  at  being"  led  about  in  so  barren  a  country, 
spoke  angrily  against  ( 1 2^  n.)  God  and  Moses,  and  complained  that 
there  was  no  food  to  be  had,  but  the  unsatisfying-  manna  which 
they  loathed. — The  soul  of  the  people  was  short\  shortness  of  soul 
(CDJ)  or  spirit  (mi)  is  impatience  or  incapability  of  restraining 
one's  ang-er.  For  example,  under  Delilah's  persistent  teasing, 
Samson's  soul  grew  short  till  he  revealed  his  secret  (Jud. 
16^^).  Short-spirited  is  the  antithesis  in  Prov.  14^^  to  long- 
suffering  (d*'2X  "JIX)  ;  see,  further,  Ex.  6^,  Jud.  10^^,  Mic.  2J , 
Zech.  11^,  Job  21*.  The  prep.  ?  gives  either  the  ground  of 
complaint,  as  in  Jud.  lo^*^,  Zech.  11^ — because  of  the  way;  or 
the  place — in  the  way. —  IVJierefore  have  ye  brotight  us  7/p] 
According-  to  MT.  the  subject  is  God  and  Moses  :  see  last 
clause.  But  the  verb  should  be  pointed  as  a  sing.  (I^rivyn  : 
so  ^^^^  S)  H),  the  subject  being  Moses  only,  as  in  i6^°,  Ex. 
17^. —  lV?iy  hast  thou  brought  us  up?\  For  the  complaint,  cp. 
20^. — This  wortldess  bread\  k^lokel  occurs  only  here,  but  the 
root  in  Heb.  means  literally  to  be  lights  and  so  coiitemptible 
[e.g.  2  S  19^*^*^^  Is.  8-^  (9^))-  On  account  of  a  .y/^cm/ develop- 
ment of  the  root-meaning  in  Assyr.  [kalkaltu  =  hunger),  some 
interpret  Ulokel  here  unsatisfying. — 6.  The  burning serpents\  If 
the  adj.  sdraph  is  connected  with  vb.  Pi"iti>  to  bum,  it  refers  to 
the  burning"  sensation  of  the  inflammation  produced  by  the 
bite,  rather  than  to  the  fiery  appearance  of  the  serpent  or, 
in  particular,  of  its  eye,  for  the  vb.  does  not  mean  give 
light.  Formally  the  word  here  used  as  an  adj.  is  identical 
with  the  noun  in  Is.  6^,  seraphim.  The  s'raphim  of  Is.  6^ 
are  mythological  in  character :  that  is  scarcely  the  case  with 


•278  NUMBERS 

the  serpents  that  in  this  story  attack  the  Israelites.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  serpents  of  various  kinds  abound  both  in  the 
Sinaitic  peninsula  and  in  the  deserts  south  of  Palestine  ;  either 
this  actual  fact  is  reflected  in  the  story,  or  the  plague  of 
serpents  in  the  story  is  entirely  due  to  the  need  for  explain- 
ing^ the  existence  in  later  times  of  the  bronze  serpent :  see 
above,  p.  275  f. —  We  have  sinned]  Aaron  and  Miriam  make  a 
similar  confession  (12^^  (E)).  After  the  confession,  Moses, 
as  on  other  occasions,  intercedes  with  effect  (11^  n.). — Make 
thee  a  serpent]  ffit^  S  add  of  bronze,  as  in  v.^. — The  words  k^'nj 
=  serpent,  and  DtiTiJ  =  bronze,  are  very  similar,  and  the  one 
word  might  very  easily  be  omitted  by  accident  after  the 
other.  The  conventional  rendering  of  ntJTlJ  is  brass;  but 
this  is  almost  certainly  incorrect.  The  word  denotes  in  the 
first  instance  an  ore,  or  natural  metal  (Dt.  8^;  cp.  nc'in:  Job 
28-).  It  is  used  for  all  sorts  of  utensils  (17*,  2  K.  25^*),  is 
less  valuable  than  gold  (Is.  60^^)  or  silver  (Dan.  2^^),  and 
was  a  bright  metal  (i  K.  7^,  Ezr.  8-").  All  this  points  to 
copper,  a  metal  in  early  use  among  various  peoples  of 
antiquity.  Copper  articles  have  been  found,  for  example, 
in  the  tomb  of  Menes,  the  "first  king  of  Egypt,"  copper  and 
bronze  at  Tell  el  Hesy  and  Troy.  From  the  fact  that 
some  of  the  OT.  allusions  {e.g.  i  S.  if^-,  i  K.  4^^  Is.  48S 
Job  40^^)  seem  to  imply  a  stronger  and  harder  metal  than 
unalloyed  copper,  it  is  inferred  that  nt^'^3  may  also  mean 
bronze.  Bronze  (an  alloy  of  copper  and  tin)  was  much 
employed  by,  whereas  brass  (an  alloy  of  copper  and  zinc) 
was  hardly  known  to,  the  ancients.* — On  a  pole]  The  word 
D3  is  generally  used  of  a  conspicuous  object  round  which 
people,  especially  troops,  mustered;  see,  e.g.,  Is.  5^6  n^^  133 
62^",  Jer.  50^;  here  it  seems  to  mean  nothing  more  than  a 
pole  sufficiently  high  to  be  conspicuous. 

6.  ^N"i2"c]  (5  = '^'xiB"  'J3C. — 8.  .Tni]  G  +  ^oi'  5djf77  50ty  S.v6pwTT0v:  cp. 
V.9  5^. — 9.  w-n  hn]  On  the  nn  with  the  formally  indefinite  but  quasi- 
pronominal  P'N  {  =  any  one),  see  Dav.  72,  R.  4;  Kon.  Hi.  288^;  G.-K. 
117c. 

*  EBi.  s.v.  "Copper,"  "Brass";  Nowack,  Arch.  I.  243  f.  In  AV, 
brass  =  copper;  see  Wright's  5/6/?  Word  Book. 


XXI.  7-XXI.  10  279 

XXI.  lO-XXXVI.  (JE  P).  Marches  and  Events 
East  of  the  'Arabah  and  the  Jordan. 

After  a  march  northwards  from  the  gulf  of  'Akabah  along 
the  E.  of  Edom  and  Moab  {21^^ '^^'^^-22^)  the  Israelites  come 
to  rest,  before  attacking  Canaan  W.  of  the  Jordan,  in  the 
country  immediately  to  the  N.E.  of  the  Dead  Sea.  With 
the  story  of  the  Israelites  in  this  district  are  connected  the 
episode  of  Balaam  (22^-24^^),  the  seduction  of  the  Israelites 
by  the  (Moabites  or)  Midianite  women  (25^^^),  whose  conduct 
is  visited  on  the  whole  people  of  Midian  (c.  31),  the  taking 
of  the  second  census  (c.  26),  the  selection  of  Moses'  successor 
Joshua  (27^^"-^),  the  communication  of  numerous  laws  and 
instructions  (27^"^*  28-30.  33^°-36).  The  greater  part  of  c.  32 
also  finds  a  suitable  place  in  this  section  ;  and  the  itinerary  of 
c.  33  is  as  well  placed  here  as  anywhere  else. 

The  greater  part  of  the  section  is  derived  from  P,  much  of 
it  from  P\  But  it  is  the  view  of  JE  with  regard  to  the  march 
that  most  clearly  appears  in  the  compilation.  If  it  was  P's 
view  that  the  Hebrews  marched  across  the  N.  of  Edom  (see 
21^^  n.),  the  editor  has  succeeded  in  obscuring  it. 

XXI.   lo.-XXII.   I.  Marches  and  Conquests  East  of  the 
Dead  Sea  and  Jordan   Valley. 

Literature. — Noldeke,  Unfersuchiingen,  85  f.;  Wellhausen,  Comp. 
iiof.,  343-346;  Meyer,  ZATW.  i.  117-146;  Stade,  Geschichte  des  Volkes 
Israel,  116-118,  130  n.  i;  Kuenen,  Hexatetcch,  151  f.,  230,  and  Th.  Tijd. 
xviii.  (1884),  516-532  ;  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  c.  xxvi.  and  Appendix  iii.  ; 
Bacon,  Triple  Tradition,  209-212  ;  Kittel,  Geschichte  der  Hebrcier,  81-83, 
192-194,  206-209  5  Sayce,  Early  History  of  the  Hebrews,  222-228  ;  Steuer- 
nagel,  Die  Eins'anderung  der  israelitischen  Stiimmen,  §§  11  and  13 
(especially). 

The  passage  contains  the  work  of  many  writers.  The 
poetical  passages  (v.^**-  ^^^-  27 -so^^  \^  view  of  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  introduced,  are  obviously  older  than  the  narrative 
with  which  they  have  been  incorporated.  V.^"^  are  derived 
from  Dt.    i^~^.     The  repeated  formula   of  marching  and  en- 


2  8o  NUMBERS 

camping  in  v.^"- ^^*  22}-  is  in  Hebrew  different  from  that  in 
v.^2^-.  That  in  v.^°'  ^^^  22^  is  the  same  as  is  found  else- 
where in  P  (v.^  n.) ;  v.^-^-  has  the  same  formula  as  Dt.  lo^^- 

(E). 

Even  the  narrative  that  remains,  after  removing  the 
poetical  passages,  the  extract  from  P,  and  the  citation  from 
Dt.,  is  not  homogeneous  or  self-consistent.  For  in  v.^*'  the 
people  have  reached  Pisgah  in  the  very  heart  of  the  country 
between  Arnon  and  Jabbok :  in  v. 2^^*  they  are  still  outside  of 
this  country,  and  only  enter  it  after  conquering  the  Amorites 
who  then  possessed  it.  Minor  incongruities  are  the  difference 
in  the  formulae  of  the  march  in  v.^^*-  and  i8b-20^  ^j^g  descrip- 
tion of  the  country  occupied  by  the  Hebrews  as  "land"  in 
y  2ia-3i  ijyf  23  cities  in  v.^^- 32^  the  fact  that  v.^^''  and  v.^^  are 
doublets,  and  that  "these  cities"  in  v.^  refers  to  nothing  in 
the  present  context.     Taken  together  these  differences  point 

to    connecting    {a)    v.^b-l^-  21-24a.  31  .    (3)    ^.^e-  18b-20.  24b.  25  (26).  32_ 

[a]  can  be  read  consecutively — After  passing  several  stations 
Israel  reaches  the  border  of  the  Amorite  country  which 
stretched  from  Arnon  to  Jabbok ;  they  ask  to  be  allowed  to 
make  a  peaceful  passage  through  this  country ;  the  Amorites 
refuse  :  the  Israelites  conquer  the  Amorites,  and  occupy  the 
country.  This  story  can  be  assigned  with  some  confidence 
to  E:  for  (i)  v.^^~^**  closely  resembles  20^^^"^^  (E) ;  (2)  it 
agrees  with  Jud.  iii2ff.  and  Dt.  2-^^-  in  locating  the  Amorites 
between  Arnon  and  Jabbok  ;  (3)  the  formula  of  the  march  in 
y^i2f.  agrees  with  Dt.  ro*^^-  (E).  The  narrative  {b)  is  not  con- 
secutive; for  V. 2^  presupposes  something  not  expressed.  Nor 
can  it  on  any  strong  positive  grounds  be  assigned  to  its 
ultimate  source;  as  belonging  to  JE  yet  inconsistent  with  E, 
it  may  provisionally  be  referred  to  J. 

The  analysis  here  adopted  is  virtually  that  of  Bacon  and  CH.  We., 
on  the  insufficient  ground  noted  above  (p.  265),  assigned  the  whole  of  v.^^"*' 
to  J.  Otherwise  the  general  tendency  was  to  refer  a  much  larger  part  of 
y_  17-30  tQ  Y. ;  Kit.  and  Kue.  referred  the  whole  section,  Meyer  all  except 
y_i8b-20  J.Q  thaj  source.  Kucnen,  slightly  modifying  the  older  harmonistic 
exegesis,  thus  attempts  to  get  over  the  difficulty  of  the  inconsistency  of 
Y  16-20  ajjjj  y_ 21-24.  £  "prefaced  his  own  narrative  by  a  passage  from  an 
older  itinerarium  .  .  .  and  illustrated  certain  points  by  poetical  citations 


XXI.  10,  II  28 1 

•  .  .  just  as  he  did  with  the  main  feature  of  his  own  narrative  also** 
(Hex.  152).  Steuernagel  has  recently  denied  the  presence  of  J  in  the 
section  ;  arguing  that  v.'^''**  are  out  of  place,  that  v.^^'"'""  not  less  than 
y_iib-i8  belong  to  E,  and  that  v. ''*'■-''  immediately  preceded  the  episode  of 
Balaam,  which  he  refers  entirely  to  E  and  E*^. 

When  the  poetical  fragments  were  introduced  Into  the  narrative  is 
uncertain.  The  introduction  of  the  first  and  third  may  be  due  to  the 
same  hand  (note  p  Vy  v."' 2';  ct.  v.");  but  whether  this  was  E  or  RJ= 
or  even  (though  thi^  is  less  likely)  a  later  editor,  must  remain  uncertain. 
The  second  poem  (v.^^  is  introduced  in  the  same  manner  as  the  song  at 
the  Red  Sea  (Ex.  15'),  and  possibly,  therefore,  by  the  same  hand  (J). 

10,  11a  (P).  And  the  children  of  Israel  set  out\  The  point  of 
departure  is  omitted:  ct.  v.**,  Ex.  132°  16^  etc.  In  33*^'- 
between  Mt.  Hor  (v.*")  and  Oboth,  two  other  places,  Salmonah 
and  Punon,  are  mentioned.  —  Obot}i\  site  unknown. — 'lyye- 
'Adferim]  The  first  part  of  the  name  is  the  cstr.  of  'lyyim 
(SS"*^)  and  plural  of  'Ai  or  't,  which,  defined  by  the  art., 
also  appears  as  the  name  of  a  place.  It  appears  to  mean 
"heaps"  or  "ruins."  'Ai  and  another 'lyyim  in  Judah  were 
on  the  W.  of  the  Jordan  valley.  The  addition  of  the  words 
**of  the  'Abarim"  here  and  in  33'*^  defines  this  'lyyim  as 
being  on  the  E.  of  the  Jordan  valley;  for  "the  'Abarim," 
meaning-  literally  "places  on  the  other  side,"  is  a  name 
given  to  the  country  E.  of  the  Jordan  valley,  specifically 
to  that  on  the  other  side  from  Judah  (cp.  27^^,  Dt.  32°; 
and  see  G.  A.  Smith's  art.  "Abarim"  in  EBi.).  Little 
that  is  more  precise  can  be  said  of  the  site  of  'lyye-' Abarim 
with  certainty ;  for  the  next  clause  and  the  following  verses 
appear  to  be  from  a  difi'erent  source.  If,  however,  the  com- 
piler has  here  been  careful  so  to  combine  his  sources  as 
correctly  to  represent  geographical  facts,  'lyye-' Abarim  lay 
E.  of  Moab  (clause  d)  and  S,  of  Arnon ;  for  between  'lyye- 
'Abarim  and  Arnon  (v.^^)  the  present  compilation  places  the 
Wady  Zered.  In  33**-*^  the  next  station  beyond  'lyyim  on 
the  northward  march  is  Dibon-Gad,  which  was  only  two  or 
three  miles  N.  of  Arnon.  In  33**  'lyyim  is  said  to  be  tn  the 
territory  or  on  the  harder  of  Moab ;  if  the  latter  translation  of 
the  ambiguous  phrase  be  adopted,  'lyyim  should  be  located 
at  the  S.E.  corner  of  Moab,  and,  therefore,  most  probably 
at  some  part  on  the  upper  course  of  the  Wady  el-Ahsa  which 


282  NUMBERS 

flows  into  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea  from  the  S.E. 
But  however  this  may  be,  the  main  point  is  certain  :  'lyye- 
'Abarim  lay  E.  of  the  Jordan  valley  (includingf  the  'Arabah) ; 
and  thus  the  narrative  of  P^,  in  so  far  as  it  is  extant,  mentions 
between  Mt.  Hor  (20^2  21*'')  on  the  W.,  and  'lyye-'Abarim  on 
the  E.,  of  the'Arabah  only  one  place,  Oboth  (the  site  of  which  is 
unknown),  and  gives  no  indication  whatever  that  the  passage 
from  W.  to  E.  was  made  by  a  long-  detour  southwards  from 
Kadesh  by  the  head  of  the  Red  Sea.  The  fuller  itinerary  of 
c.  33,  which,  though  the  work  of  P\  is  in  the  main  governed 
by  P^'s  point  of  view,  mentions,  indeed,  a  larger  number  of 
intervening  stations ;  but  it  also  gives  no  indication  of  a 
detour  south.  It  is  therefore  highly  probable  that  P^  repre- 
sented the  people  marching,  unmolested  and  with  ease, 
straight  across  the  northern  end  of  Edom.  Just  as  forty 
years  before  the  spies  passed  through  the  whole  length  of 
Canaan  at  will,  so  now  the  Israelites  approach  Canaan  by  the 
direct  and  chosen  route  with  entire  disregard  of  the  people 
then  in  possession  of  the  country, 

11.  nnnyn  vj?]  the  existence  of  a  cy  in  Judah  is  a  little  uncertain :  of 
the  versions  U  {Hm)  alone  supports  |^  in  Jos.  15^,  the  only  passage 
where  the  place  is  mentioned  ;  C5°  reads  Ba/cwK ;  5>  ■  1  NS  ;  <&^^  Aveifi, 
pointing  to  D'iJ7  (cp.  Jos.  18"^  C5'^*-).  Even  of  the  present  name  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  original  form  was  not  rather  the  sing.  Dn^yn  'j; 
(distinguished  from  'Jjn  near  Bethel  in  western  Canaan).  U  (Ijeaharim, 
Jeabarim)  clearly  supports  the  pi.,  and,  possibly,  ffi^  (reet)  does  the  same  ; 
5  always  reads  (  'T*^^?  M  »  ^,  which  is  ambiguous  ;  but,  with  the 
exception  just  mentioned,  all  the  readings  of  fir  are  either  curious  or 
point  to  the  sing.  ;  for  Fji,  the  regular  equivalent  of  'v('i)  (see  Hatch  and 
Redpath,  Supplement,  s.v,  Tai,  Ayyai),  is  read  in  &''^^  in  33*^'",  and  here 
^AF  (vid)  have  AxeX7at,  ^  x^^7^f'>  ^  Ax'^et/x  X'^'^M-  So  in  Onofn.  Airj,  rj 
Kal  'Axe\yai  (211^),  Ate  quce  et  Achalgai  (86^).  The  origin  of  fir's  AxeX 
(cp.  in  NT.  'AxeX5a^ax,  here  =  Aram.  "jpo)  is  not  obvious;  it  might  (after 
»-)  be  a  corruption  of  NaxeX  =  '?n3;  but  if  so,  whence  came  ^m?  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  the  hard  pronunciation  of  y  which  still  influences 
ffi  is  neglected  in  the  forms  of  the  Onom.  (Anj,  Aie^.  On  this  point  and 
on  the  possible  presence  of  "V  in  '?3'y,  see  Academy,  June  21,  1896. 

llb-15.  A  fragment  of  E's  itinerary,  describing  how  the 
Israelites  advance,  keeping  outside  Moabite  territory  and  the 
border  of  the  Amorites  (v.^^^-  ^^).    This  is  followed  by  a  fragment 


XXI.  II-I3  28 


O 


of  an  ancient  poem  (v.^^^-).  Previous  fragments  of  E's  itinerary 
are  to  be  found  in  20^^  21^^,  Dt.  lo*^"^.  Evidently,  from  the 
position  which  they  occupy  in  c.  33,  the  places  mentioned  in 
Dt.  io^~^  belong"  to  the  march  southwards  from  Kadesh : 
those  mentioned  here,  to  the  march  northward  from  'Esion- 
Geber  on  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah.  In  view  of  the  different 
definition  of  'lyye-'Abarim  in  33**  and  the  similarity  to  Jud. 
11^^,  CH.  seem  justified  in  referring-  v.^^^  (z«  the  wilderness 
•which  is  over  against  Moah  on  the  east)  to  E  rather  than  P. 
Whether  in  E  v.^^*^  defines  'lyye-'Abarim  or  some  other  place 
cannot  be  determined,  but  the  fact  that  'lyye-'Abarim  in  33*^^- 
immediately  precedes  Dibon-Gad  favours  the  latter  alter- 
native,— The  Wady  Zered\  Dt.  2^^*-  Taken  by  itself  the 
context  in  Dt.  favours  the  identification  *  with  the  Wady  el- 
Ahsa,  formerly  the  southern  border  of  Moab,  and  still  "the 
recog-nised  boundary  between  the  districts  of  Petra  and 
Kerak "  ;  for  the  command  not  to  vex  Moab  would  be  more 
suitably  g^iven  as  the  Israelites  were  approaching-  the  southern 
border,  than  after  they  had  been  for  some  time  skirting-  the 
eastern  border  of  Moab.  But  if  the  compiler  of  the  present 
narrative  was  accurately  acquainted  with  and  accurately  repre- 
sents the  topography  of  the  district,  'lyye-'Abarim  must  lie  on 
or  N.  of  the  Wady  el-Ahsa,  and  consequently  the  Wady  Zered 
must  be  some  wady  further  north,  such  as  el-Franji  (the  upper 
course  of  the  Wady  el-Kerak)  or  the  Seil  Lejjun  (cp.  p.  286).! 
— 13.  Beyond  Arnon\  if  the  writer  speaks  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  march,  this  must  mean  north  of  the  Arnon :  this  is  the 
most  natural  interpretation  both  here  and  in  Jud.  11^^  (see 
Moore,  ad  loc).  If  the  phrase  is  used  from  the  fixed  stand- 
point of  an  Israelite,  beyond  Arnon  would  mean  on  the  side  of 
Arnon  out  of  Israelite  territory,  and  hence  south  of  Arnon  ;  so 
it  is  commonly  taken  here.  J — WJiichisin  the  wilderness^  the 
clause  apparently  defines  Arnon  (rather  than  l^y).  Such  a 
definition  is  not  unnecessary,  for  the  name  Arnon  in  the 
OT.  covers  a  number  of  branches  of  the  great  wady  whose 

*  Robinson,  Biblical  Researches,  ii.  555  f.  ;  Tristram,  Land  of  Moab,  50. 

t  Di.  ;  Driver  on  Dt.  2'^. 

X  Di.,  Str.,  Meyer,  ZATW.  v.  45  n.  i. 


2S4  LUMBERS 

modern  name  is  Wady  Mojib  (cp.  v.^^  n.).  G.  A.  Smith  (in  EBi. 
3170  n.  i)  suggests  that  the  particular  stream  here  intended  is 
one  of  the  branches  of  the  W.  Waleh,  which  comes  from  the 
N.  into  the  main  wady  \\  m.  from  its  mouth. — The  wilderness 
ivhich  stretches  away  from  the  territory  of  the  Amorite\  viz.  to  the 
east.  The  whole  description  points  to  some  locality  on  the 
upper  Arnon,  in  agreement  with  21^-'^^^  and  Jud.  11^^,  which 
represent  the  march  as  outside  of  and  therefore  necessarily  east 
of  Edom  and  Moab.  The  upper  Arnon  could  be  easily  crossed 
by  a  large  body  of  men  :  not  so  the  lower  Arnon,  which  runs 
through  a  chasm  two  or  three  miles  across  and  1700  feet 
deep.* — For  Arnon  is  the  Moahite  border  between  Moab  and  the 
Amorite\  What  this  statement  is  intended  to  substantiate  is 
not  clear,  possibly  owing  to  an  incomplete  citation  of  the 
source.  For  the  view  that  at  the  time  in  question  the  country 
N.  of  Arnon  was  occupied  by  the  Amorites,  see  v.^**"^^,  Jud.  1 1^^, 
Jos.  1 2-.  The  Moabite  N.  boundary  shifted  in  later  times, 
as  the  contemporary  evidence  of  the  Moabite  Stone  suffices 
to  show.  Under  'Omri  and  Ahab  Arnon  formed  the  border 
between  Israel  and  Moab ;  Mesha'  reconquered  many  of  the 
towns  N.  of  Arnon  {e.g.  'Aro'er,  Mehedeba,  'Ataroth,  Nebo), 
and  reoccupied  the  country.  Mesha''s  inscription,  in  fact, 
refers  to  three  changes:  (i)  in  the  time  before 'Omri,  Moab 
occupied  country  N.  of  Arnon  ;  (2)  in  the  time  of  'Omri,  and 
Ahab,  Moab  was  confined  to  the  S.  of  Arnon ;  (3)  in  the 
period  of  Mesha'  (and  subsequently,  cp.  Is.  15  f.),  Moab  again 
extended  N.  of  Arnon.  There  is  thus  nothing  historically 
improbable  in  the  representation  of  this  chapter  that  at  a 
much  earlier  period  Moab  had  to  fight,  and  not  always 
successfully,  to  maintain  its  claim  to  the  country  N.  of  the 
Arnon. — 14  f.  A  snatch  from  the  hook  of  YahweKs  Battles 
is  cited  to  show  that  Arnon  was  the  border  of  Moab. — 
WJierefore  it  is  said\  or  that  is  the  meaning  of  the  saying  (p  ?y 
~|QS"') :  cp.  Gn.  10^,  and  the  similar  phrase  no^<''  p  by  in  v.^^. 
The  book  of  the  Battles  of  Vahweh]  To  judge  from  the  specimen 
here  preserved,  and  from  its  title,  this  book,  like  the  book  of 
the  YasJiar  (Jos.  10^^,  2  S.  i^^)  or  the  Hamdsa  and  similar 
•  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  558;  Tristrain,  Land  of  Moah,  125  IT. 


XXI.   14,  IS  285 

collections  of  the  Arabs,*  appears  to  have  been  a  collection 
of  ancient  popular  songs  that  had  been  handed  down  orally 
till  the  fuller  establishment  of  a  national  life  brought  with  it  a 
period  of  literary  activity.  The  date  of  the  collection  cannot 
be  determined  with  any  certainty,  f  The  book  of  the  Yashar 
cannot  be  earlier  than  David  (2  S  i^^) ;  and  the  book  of 
Yahweh's  Battles  may  well  have  arisen  in  the  same  period. 
The  subject  of  the  collection,  as  indicated  in  the  title,  was  the 
struggles  of  the  nation  or  its  heroes  against  its  foes ;  for 
these  were  what  the  Hebrews  meant  by  "  battles  of  Yahweh  " 
(i  S.  18^''  25-^) ;  and  the  battles  were  so  called  because  they 
were  waged  by  the  help  of  Yahweh  {e.g.  1  S.  14^-  2^)  and  by 
the  presence  in  the  heroes  of  Yahweh's  spirit  (Jud.  6^^^-  i  S. 
ii*^^-)  and  against  Yahweh's  enemies  (Jud.  5^^).  War  with 
the  Hebrews,  as  with  other  peoples  of  antiquity,  was  a  sacred 
undertaking,  J  and  as  such  demanded  consecration  (Jos.  3^, 
Is.  13^,  Jer.  6*  51-'^,  Joel  3^,  Micah  3^). — The  snatch  itself  is  an 
obscure  fragment  beginning  in  the  middle  of  one  sentence 
and  breaking  off  in  the  middle  of  the  next — 

...  1*^  Waheb  in  Suphah,  and  the  valleys,  Arnon. 
*^  The  cliff  of  the  valleys  which  extends  to  the  site  of 'Ar, 
And  leans  on  the  border  of  Moab  .  .  . 

The  verb  on  which  Waheb  is  dependent  may  have  been  nny, 
or  np^,  or  the  like,  and  so — We  [i.e.  the  Israelites,  Yahweh's 
warriors)  passed  throjigh  or  took  Waheb.  Waheb  ((5  Zcoo/S) 
is  quite  unknown  ;  Suphah,  the  district  in  which  it  is  situated, 
may  possibly  be  identical  with  the  obscure  Suph  of  Dt.  i^ 
(see  Driver,  ad  loc),  but  scarcely,  as  suggested  by  Tristram 
{Moab,  50 f.)  with  the  Ghor  es-Safiyyeh,  a  small  oasis  just 
S.E.  of  the  Dead  Sea  (see  Dr.  in  DB.  s.v.  "Zoar").     The 

*  On  which  see  Brockelmann,  Arab.  Litteratur,  17-21,  and  Fried. 
Riickert's  German  metrical  translation  with  notes  of  the  Hamdsa  of  Abu 
Temm4m  (2  vols.  ;  Stuttg-art,  1846). 

t  Reuss,    Gesch.    d.    Heiligenschrift  ATS.,^   215   (temp.    David-Sol.);- 
Meyer,  ZATW.  i.  131  f.  (c.  850-800  B.C.  ;  of.  Sta.  GVI.  50). 

X  Schwally,  Semitische  Kriegsaltertinner  {Der  heilige  Krieg  im  alien 
Israel),  1901, 


286  NUMBERS 

sibilants  do  not  correspond,  and  Safiyyeh  is  a  specifically 
Arabic  term  (Wetzstein  in  Del.  Gen.^  586  n.  2),  which  does 
not  seem  to  be  a  likely  explanation  of  Suphah. — The  valleys, 
Amon]  the  valleys  which  constitute  Arnon,  i.e.  the  present 
Wady  Mojib,  which  is  formed  by  the  junction  just  above 
'Ara'ir,  some  thirteen  miles  from  the  Dead  Sea,  of  three 
deep  wadies :  two  of  these  (the  Lejjun  and  the  Balu'a) 
coming-  from  the  S.  first  unite  and  then  join  the  Seil  Sa'ideh 
from  the  E.  (F.  Bliss,  P£F  Qu.  Si.,  1895,  204  (map),  215). 
"The  whole  plateau  up  to  the  desert  is  thus  not  only  cut 
across,  but  up  and  down,  by  deep  ravines,  and  a  very 
diflficult  frontier  is  formed.  .  .  .  but  all  the  branches  probably 
carried  the  name  Arnon  from  the  main  valley  right  up  to  the 
desert.  It  is  not  l/ie  valley  but  l/ie  valleys  of  Arnon  which  are 
named  in  the  ancient  fragment  of  song  celebrating  Israel's 
passage"  (G.  A.  Smith,  Hisl.  Geog.  558 f.).  The  second  and 
third  lines  of  the  fragment  seem  to  introduce  a  notice  (in  the 
citation  left  incomplete)  of  one  particular  Arnon  valley — that, 
viz.,  which  turns  towards  or  extends  to  'Ar,  and  forms  the 
Moabite  border ;  and  this  is  probably  the  main  valley,  with  its 
lofty  and  precipitous  cliff's.  "  Cliff"  seems  the  most  probable 
meaning  of  nCN,  which  is  only  here  used  in  the  singular,  but 
occurs  in  the  pi.  of  "the  slopes  of  Pisgah  "  (Dt.  3^''  4^^,  Jos. 
12^  i^soj)^  and,  with  a  general  reference,  in  Jos.  10^*',  where  it 
forms  one  of  four  divisions  {the  hill-country,  the  7iegeb,  the 
shephelah,  and  the  slopes)  into  which  the  whole  land  was 
divided  according  to  physical  aspect. — The  site  of  Ar\  (ly  riTtJ'), 
a  poetical  expression;  ct.  ■i"'yn  1V^'\)2,  2  K.  2^^. — '^r  is  also 
mentioned  in  Dt.  ■z^-  ^^-  ^9,  and  in  the  fuller  form  'Ar  Moab  in 
v.2^.  Is.  15^.  '^r  means  city,  and  may  have  been  the  regular 
Moabitic  equivalent  of  the  Heb.  'z>  (pi.  'artm).  'Ar,  therefore, 
is  presumably  the  same  as 'Ir  Moab  (22^";  RV.  "  the  city  of 
Moab").  In  that  case  (and  even  Dt.  2^^  with  the  context 
almost  suffices  to  prove  it)  'Ar  was  situated  on  the  upper 
(eastern)  course  of  the  Arnon.  In  Is.  is-*^  Cj  renders  3NV0  ~iy 
•by  M.waj3elTi<i,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  'Ar  was  a 
district  rather  than  a  town.  The  identifications  with  indi- 
vidual sites,  such  as  Muhatet  el-hajj,  just  south  of  the  Wady 


XXI.  IS,  i6  287 

Mojib,  lack  proof,  or  are  definitely  unsuitable.*  Tlie  cliff  of 
the  valley  which  forms  the  border  of  Moab  is  poetically  said 
to  lean  upon  that  border.  It  is  for  this  last  statement  that 
the  fragment  is  quoted. 

11.  At  the  end  of  the  v.,  S  and  the  margin  of  codices  85  and  130  of  G 
and  the  Syr.  Hex.  (see  Field's  Hexapla)  add  (with  the  change  of  'Vn  to 
Twa'D  ^K  and  the  omission  of  non'7D)  Dt.  2^  which  forbids  Israel  to  fight  with 
or  take  possession  of  Moab.  After  v.^^,  S  adds  Dt.  2^^'\ — 13.  nnyn]  S  t3y3 
(cp.  ffi):  so  Jud.  ii>8  !§.— 14.  n2iD3  nm  nx]  ffi  ti]v  Zw6,3  i4>\byi<Tev.  The 
obscurity  of  the  fragment  offered  much  scope  to  the  Haggadic  faculty. 
nsiD  suggested  fjiD  □',  nni  (in  some  MSS.  nmn.x  is  read  as  one  word,  which 
gives  an  Aramaic  verbal  form)  was  taken  to  refer  to  a  gift  of,  or  a  miracle 
wrought  by  God.  Hence  U,  depending  on  Jewish  exegesis  as  repre- 
sented in  KJ",  Sicut  fecit  in  inari  rubra  sic  faciei  in  torreniibus  Arnon: 
similarly  AV.  CJ°"  connects  nsio  both  with  nsiD  a  storm,  and  ']^o  end, 
extremity.  In  the  next  verse  icn,  taken  in  the  sense  of  pouring  out, 
suggested  a  story  of  how  the  Edomites  and  the  Moabites,  hiding  in  the 
valleys  with  a  view  to  surprising  the  Hebrews,  were  crushed  by  the 
mountains  coming  together  at  the  command  of  Yahweh,  and  of  how 
the  valleys  "poured"  with  their  blood. — That  am  nx  is  rightly  divided, 
and  am  (possibly  a  corrupt  form)  a  place-name,  is  clear  from  the 
following  clause. — pix  c"Vn3n]  on  the  appositional  cstr.,  see  Dr.  Tenses, 
190.  — 15.  new]  Either  a  third  ace.  to  the  two  in  the  preceding  v. 
(Di.),  or,  in  view  of  the  absence  of  nx,  more  probably  a  nom.  (casus 
pendens)  of  a  sentence  left  incomplete  in  the  citation.  The  precise 
meaning  of  ncx  is  uncertain.  The  root  in  Heb.  appears  only  in  this  one 
word  (pi.  ms'K).  In  Aram,  "ib'n  ,„»  j  means  to  pour  out,  and  is  especially 
used  of  "shedding  blood."  Hence  the  Targum  renderings.  On  S^ 
see  Nold.  in  ZDMG.  xl.  160 ;  and  on  Sabaean  idn,  D.  H.  Miiller,  ib, 
xxxvii.  8.  Fried.  Del.  {Heb.  in  Light  of  Assyr.  Research,  p.  30  f.)  compares 
iMu  —  base;  cp.  TS  radices  in  Dt.  3'^.  The  sense  sloping  side,  cliff,  which 
is  suggested  by  njDsn  msTX  nnn,  may  have  been  developed  from  one  or 
other  of  these  root  meanings.     C5  and  S  translate  by  verbs  ;  S  reads  "wh. 

16-20.  The  itinerary  continued  :  Be'er  (Mattanah),  Nahali'el, 
Bamoth,  Pisgah. — This  section  of  the  itinerary  seems  to  be 
derived  from  a  source  different  from  the  foregoing- ;  and, 
strictly  regarded,  it  is  certainly  out  of  place  before  v. 21-2^. 
See  p.  280.  Of  the  places  mentioned  here,  the  Pisgah  at  least 
lay  N.  of  Arnon,  and  the  entire  description  in  v.^*'  points  to  a 
spot  above  the  N.  E.  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea.  If  read  as  a 
continuation  of  the  preceding  section,  the  remaining  places 

*  For  suggested  identifications  and  criticisms  of  them,  see  Buhl,  Ceog. 
269;  G.  A.  Smith's  art.  "Ar"  in  EBi. 


288  NUMBERS 

lie  between  the  upper  Arnon  (v.^^  n.)  and  the  N.E.  of   the 
Dead  Sea,  and  thus  the  line  of  march  is  north-westerly. 

16.  Be'er]  Like  the  synonymous  term  'En  ('Ain),  Be'er, 
which  means  a  well,  frequently  appears  by  itself  or  defined  by 
a  following^  genitive,  as  a  place  name.  The  OT.  mentions 
Be'er  (Jud.  9^1),  Be'eroth  (2  S.  4^),  Be'er-sheba ,  Be'eroth- 
bene-ya'akan  (Dt.  10*'),  Be'er-elim  (Is.  15^).  The  present  may 
be  an  abbreviated  form  of  the  last.  Such  abbreviations  are 
common  {EBi.  s.v.  "Names,"  §92).  If  so,  to  judge  from  Is. 
15^,  it  lay  in  northern  Moab.  But  the  site  is  quite  uncertain. 
— 16b  reads  like  a  note  inserted  by  another  hand;  in  v.^^* 
Be'er  =  Well  is  a  proper  name ;  otherwise,  as  in  v.^*'^,  it  would 
have  the  article  :  moreover,  had  the  writer  of  the  itinerary 
wished  to  define  the  well  meant,  he  would  more  naturally 
have  written,  "And  from  there  to  the  well  whereof  Yahweh 
spake,"  etc.  The  note  appears  to  refer  to  a  story  no  longer 
extant ;  ct.  the  terms  in  which  a  similar  incident  is  described 
in  20^ ;  for  the  rabbinic  interpretation,  see  phil.  n. — T/ien 
sang  Israel  this  son g\  Ex.  15^  (J).  The  clause  with  the  song 
introduced  by  it  would  follow  v.^^*  suitably  enough ;  it  is  less 
suitable  after  v.^^^,  which  speaks  only  of  Yahweh's  promise 
of  water,  not  of  the  fulfilment  of  such  a  promise.  Moreover, 
the  terms  of  the  promise  in  v.^^^  lead  the  reader  to  expect 
that  Yahweh  will  provide  the  water  miraculously :  if  this  be 
really  intended,  then  the  song  itself  does  not  answer  to  the 
situation,  for  it  speaks  of  a  well  naturally  made  of  service 
by  the  leaders  of  the  people. 

On  the  song,  see  W.  R.  Smith,  British  Qtinrterly  Revieroy  Ixv.  (Jan. 
1877),  45  f.;  Religion  of  the  Semites,  127,  167;  ^  139,  i6g  n.  3,  183  (and  in 
criticism  of  this  Koberle,  Natur  u.  Geist,  114);  Budde  in  New  World 
(1895,  March),  i2i^-\^  =  Preussische  Jahrbiicher,  1895,  pp.  491-580; 
Cheyne,  art.  "Beer"  in  EBi.  The  original  character  of  the  song  is 
obscured  by  the  historical  setting  which  is  given  to  it.  It  is  scarcely  a 
historical  poem,  but  belongs  rather  to  a  particular  class  of  popular 
poetry,  of  which,  unfortunately,  very  few  Hebrew  examples  survive.  Such 
poetry  consisted  especially  of  short  snatches  sung  in  honour  of  the  vine 
at  time  of  vintage,  or  of  wells  and  springs,  and  even,  as  Ewald  (History 
(Eng.  tr.),  ii.  203  n.  3)  put  it,  "of  popular  songs  accompanying  the 
alternate  strokes  of  hard  labour."  No  complete  vintage  song  survives, 
though  a  line  of  one  is  probably  quoted  in  Is.  65^  (cp.  Ps.  57  title),  and 


XXI.  i6-iS  289 

imitations  of  the  class  may  be  found  in  Is.  5"'  27^'*.  The  present  lines 
are  a  complete,  or  all  but  complete,  popular  song,  addressed  to  a  well, 
in  which,  perhaps,  as  W.  R.  Smith  suggested,  "the  Hebrew  women  as 
they  stand  round  the  fountain  waiting  their  turn  to  draw,  coax  forth  the 
water,  which  wells  up  all  too  slowly  for  their  impatience."  Budde  and 
Cheyne  trace  the  origin  of  the  song  to  the  Negeb,  where  wells  were 
highly  prized  (cp.  Gn.  2i22ff-  ae^^"^-).  and  without  which  it  is  impossible  to 
live  (Jud.  i",  Jos.  15^^).  Budde  may  be  right  in  detecting  in  the  song 
an  allusion  to  a  custom  by  which  when  a  well  had  been  discovered 
it  was  lightly  covered  over,  and  then,  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  solemnly 
opened  with  a  symbolic  action  of  the  sceptre-like  staves  of  the  Sheikhs 
of  the  clan,  and  formally  declared  clan  property.  Two  interesting 
parallels  are  cited:  KazvvinI  (i.  189)  relates,  "When  the  water  [of  the 
wells  of  Ilabistan]  failed,  a  feast  was  held  at  the  source,  with  music  and 
dancing,  to  induce  it  to  flow  again  .  .  ."  And  Nilus  (Migne,  Patrologia 
Grcsca,  torn.  Ixxix.  col.  648),  as  Goldziher  (Abhandhmge7i,  i.  58)  has  pointed 
out,  reports  of  the  nomadic  Arabs,  that  when  they  found  a  well  they 
danced  by  it  and  sang  songs  to  it  (Kade\6vTe$  oSi>  tQ>v  KaixriXujv  to,  (poprla, 
iKelvas  p-h  iKfi^veadai  dia^n-aixiv  i\ev6^pu}  irodl '  avrol  di  irepLrpixovat  t<^  vdarL 
TTtVoires,  irepiKXv^Sfievoi,  \ov6;ievoi,  ovk  ^x^"'''^^  airXtDs,  dVws  xp^o'WJ'Tat  Tg  i^tXo- 
Tifxlq,  Tov  vdaros-  Tovry  5^  TrpoaxopevoPTes  Kal  Trjv  Trriyqv  dvv/ivovvre^  opwcnv 
Kara  tt]v  vwuipfiav  txvos  dupLariov  /xiKpoO).  Modern  travellers  speak  of  the 
songs  used  by  the  Bedawin  as  they  draw  water  for  their  flocks  ;  Seetzen, 
Reisen^  ii.  223. 

Whether  W.  R.  Smith  is  justified  in  seeing  in  the  song  the  influence  of 
well-worship  is  less  certain  ;  the  well,  it  is  true,  is  addressed  as  a  living 
thing ;  but  so  also,  to  cite  merely  the  closest  parallel,  is  the  vineyard  in 
Is.  27^ ;  see,  further,  Koberle,  loc.  cit. 

To  attempt  any  more  precise  determination  of  the  date  when  this 
ancient  popular  song  was  composed  than  is  suggested  by  the  foregoing 
remarks,  would  obviously  be  fruitless. 

Spring  up,  O  well !     Sing  ye  to  It  t 
To  the  well  which  the  princes  dug. 
Which  the  nobles  of  the  people  delved, 
With  the  leader's  wand,  with  their  staffs. 

The  song-  is  addressed  to  a  well  that  is  already  known  and 
celebrated,  rather  than  to  one  just  discovered.  The  perfect 
tenses  in  the  second  and  third  lines  are  historical.  The 
drawers,  as  they  stand  round  the  well,  pray  it  to  supply  them 
again  as  in  the  past,  exhort  one  another  to  sing  to  the  well, 
and  recall  the  fact  that  the  well  was  found  and  secured  to 
them  by  the  Sheikhs  of  their  clan.  A  similar  popular  tradition 
attached  to  Jacob's  well  near  Shechem  (John  4^^^^ 

Sing  ye  to  it\  cp.  Is.  27^. —  With  the  'wand\  not,  as  in  AV., 
"by  the  direction  of  the  lawgiver,"  for  ppnD  signified  the 
19 


290  NUMBERS 

covimande-)^ s  or  leader's  wand  SiS  well  as  the  commander  himself 
See  Gn.  49^'',  Dt.  3521,  with  Di.'s  and  Driver's  notes  thereon. 
The  second  word  (DiytJ'O)  is  regularly  used  of  the  staff  em- 
ployed in  ordinary  life  (Ex.  21^^,  Zech.  8*).  A  story  told  of 
Mohammed  illustrates  the  use  of  the  staff  referred  to  in  the 
poem:  some  wells  at  Hodeibia  being-  choked  with  sand, 
Mohammed  made  one  of  his  followers  descend  one  of  them, 
and  with  an  arrow — the  only  implement  at  hand — scrape  away 
the  sand;  afterward  the  water  flowed  freely.*  Di.,  however, 
on  the  ground  that  the  well  must  have  been  too  considerable 
for  its  waters  to  have  been  thus  brought  to  the  surface, 
explains  with  the  wand  as  meaning  at  the  instruction  and  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  leaders.  But  this  assumes  an  un- 
paralleled and  improbable  use  of  1.  Preferable  to  this  is  the 
explanation  that  the  action  with  the  wand  is  symbolical  (see 
above). — And  from  Wilderness  to  MattanaK\  If  the  text  be 
right.  Wilderness  ("13^D),  being  without  the  article,  must  be  a 
proper  name.  But  this  is  improbable.  Moreover,  the  place  last 
reached,  and  from  which,  therefore,  the  departure  is  actually 
made,  is  Be'er  (v.^^^);  hence  many,  with  ffi,  read,  and  from 
ne'er  to  Mattanah.  But  Budde  questions  whether  this  was 
the  original  text  of  (5  (see  phil.  n.),  and,  omitting  the  1 
{  =  and),  regards  the  last  two  words  of  v.^^  as  the  last  line 
of  the  song,  and  renders.  From  the  wilderness  a  gift.  For 
mattanah  =  a  gift ^  see,  e.g..^  Gn.  25^.  The  omission  of  the 
article  before  wilderness  would  be  in  accordance  with  common 
poetical  usage  (Kon.  iii.  292). — 19.  And  from  Mattanah'\  the 
words  are  omitted  in  G^;  and  rightly,  if  Budde's  view  of  the 
text  (see  last  note)  be  correct.  In  any  case  the  site  of 
Mattanah  is  unknown;  in  OS.  (137^,  277^2)  Mathane, 
MaOdavefx,  is  identified  with  Maschana,  said  to  be  situated 
on  the  Arnon,  12  miles  E.  of  Medeba ;  but  the  two  defini- 
tions of  the  site  of  Maschana  are  incompatible,  since  Medeba 
was  considerably  N.  of  Arnon.  According  to  Budde  the 
original  text  of  the  itinerary  (v.^*""^^)  ran,  And  fvm  there  to 
Be''er,  and  from  Be'er  to  Nahal€el,  and  from  NahalPel  to 
Bamoth.  —  Nnhairel\  the  name  means  the  wady  of  God^ 
•  Muir,  Mahomet,'*  343  f. 


XXI.   19  291 

"which  is  not  an  unfit  name  for  the  Wady  Zerka  Ma'in  with 
its  heaUng  spring's."*  The  Wady  Zerka  Ma'in  bisects  that 
part  of  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea  which  extends 
northwards  from  the  mouth  of  the  Arnon.  A  station  on  its 
course  would  therefore  be  about  half-way  between  the  Arnon 
and  the  Wady  'Ayun  M(jsa  (v.^o  n.).  Still  the  identification 
of  Nahali'el  with  the  Wady  Zerka  Ma'in  must  either  govern 
or  be  governed  by  that  of  Bamoth,  itself  uncertain.  Bamoih, 
or  high  places,  were  as  characteristic  of  the  land  of  Moab 
{Mesha,  1.  3  ;  Is.  15^  16^-,  Jer.  48^^)  as  they  were,  down  to  the 
time  of  Isaiah's  reformation,  of  the  land  of  Israel ;  and,  con- 
sequently, the  generic  term  Bamoth,  like  others,  such  as  Be'er 
(v.^^  n.),  may  in  more  than  one  instance  have  become  the 
proper  name  of  a  place.  This  being  so,  the  identification  of 
the  Bamoth  of  this  passage  with  the  Bamoth-Ba'al  of  22", 
Jos.  13^'^,  and  the  Beth-Bamoth  of  Meshd ,  1.  27,  is,  though 
probable,  not  certain.  The  alternative  forms  of  the  name  of 
the  same  place  would  be  in  accordance  with  well-established 
custom.!  This  identification  of  Bamoth,  Bamoth-Ba'al,  and 
Beth-Bamoth  being  assumed,  the  place  lay  in  the  territory 
north  of  Arnon  which  passed  to  and  fro  between  Israel  and 
Moab,  was  loftily  situated,  and  commanded  a  view  over  "the 
plains  of  Moab"  (22*^  Jos.  13^^).  Some  high  place  not  far 
south  of  the  valley  of  v.^''  (?  the  Wady  'Ayun  Musa)  seems 
best  to  meet  the  requirements.  Some  |  place  it  near  the  Wady 
Jideid,  "in  the  dolmens  immediately  north  of  El-Maslubiyeh," 
the  view  from  which  is  described  by  Tristram  [Moab,  322  f.). 
In  considering  the  claims  of  this  identification,  too  much 
ought  not  to  be  made  of  the  presence  of  dolmens,  for  they 
are  particularly  prevalent  in  Moab.§  Others, ||  attaching 
importance  to  the  order  of  mention  in  Jos.  13^^,  seek  Bamoth 
between  Dibon  and  Ba'al  Ma'on  (see  notes  on  v.'*'  and  32^^),  and 
in  particular  on  Mt.  'Attarus,  which  rises  south  of  the  Wady 

♦  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  562. 

t  See  the  present  writer's  discussion  in  EBi.,  "  Names,"  §  92  f.;  HPN. 
125-136,  324. 

X  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  562  ;  Conder,  Heth  and  Moab,  145  f. 
§  Conder,  Palestine,  156. 
II  Hengst.,  D!..  Str. 


292  NUMBERS 

Zerka  Ma'ln.  In  this  case  Nahali'el,  being'  mentioned  before 
Bamoth  in  a  northward  march,  must  be  one  of  the  less  im- 
portant wadies  between  Arnon  and  the  Wady  Zerka  Ma'in. — 
20.  From  Bamoth  the  route  is  followed  to  a  valley  (X'"3)  near 
the  N.E.  of  the  Dead  Sea.  So  much  seems  tolerably  clear; 
but  in  detail  the  v.  is  difficult  of  interpretation.  Nothing-  ^:v- 
c/?/^(?5' the  identification  *  of  the  "valley"  with  the  Wady 'Ayun 
Musa,  and  on  certain  views  of  the  text  and  meaning  of  the 
passage  there  is  much  that  favours  it ;  but  it  is  not  fully 
established. — The  region  of  Moah\  3X1D  VCW  is  an  alternative 
term  for  the  Ia7td  {yiis)  of  Moab.  It  is  found  in  Gn.  36^^  and 
several  times  in  Ruth.  Cp.  the  ta7zd  (y'^ii)  of  Se'zr,  the  region 
(mc^)  of  Edoni.  This  wide  definition  of  the  district  where  the 
'*  valley  "  lay  required  limitation  ;  this  follows  in  the  words  the 
head  (or  top)  of  the  Pisgah,  which  may  be  intended  as  an 
appositional  clause  limiting"  the  region  of  Moab,  or  as  in 
apposition  to  and  explanatory  of  the  valley.  In  either  case 
the  efTect  is  sufficiently  awkward  to  justify  a  suspicion  that 
the  text  is  corrupt,  or  that  the  words  the  head  of  the  Pisgah 
have  been  inserted  by  an  editor  without  regard  to  style.  The 
Pisgah  (njDai)  appears  to  be  used  of  the  western  edge  of  the 
Moabite  plateau  which  falls  steeply  to  the  Dead  Sea,  and, 
perhaps,  more  particularly  of  that  part  of  it  which  lies  to  the 
N.E.  of  the  Dead  Searf  the  term  is  elsewhere  used  in  23^*, 
Dt.  3^7.27  ^49  24^  Jos.  12^  13201^  The  root  3D3  in  Aramaic  (Dr. 
Dent.  p.  58)  and  Mishnic  Hebrew  (Levy,  Neu-hebr.  IVorterbuch) 
means  to  cleave;  the  name  may  therefore  have  been  given 
on  account  of  the  aspect  of  the  range  as  seen  from  below. 
The  head  of  the  Pisgah  (njD^n  L"i<~i),  mentioned  also  in  23^*, 
Dt.  3"^^  34^^!,  appears  by  itself  to  be  a  collective  term  for  the 
promontories  or  headlands  which  run  out  from  the  Moabite 
plateau,  generally  at  a  slightly  lower  level  than  the  plateau 
itself.  The  several  individual  headlands,  which,  regarded 
from  below,  are  peaks  4000  feet  high,  had  separate  names : 
two  of  these  are  mentioned  elsewhere,  viz.  the  Field  of  the 
Watchers  (23^*)  and  Mt.   Nebo  (Dt.  34^). — And  it  looks  out 

*  Di.,  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  564. 

t  Bulil,  Geog.  §  76 ;  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Gcog.  ~,(>2. 


XXI.  20  2  93 

upon  tlie  JesMmon\  The  word  ;io"'l^'',  from  the  root  DC''  =  to  he 
waste,  desolate,  is  used  in  poetry,  without  the  art.,  of  the 
wilderness  of  wandering ;  see,  e.g.,  Dt.  32^^  With  the  art.  it 
is  used  in  certain  prose  passages  virtually  as  a  geographical 
proper  name.  Such  is  the  use  of  the  word  here.  Used  thus 
it  appears  in  i  S.  23^^-  ^■i  26^-  ^  to  be  the  name  of  the  desolate 
country  of  Judah  above  the  northern  part  of  the  i&cstern  shore 
of  the  Dead  Sea.*  It  is  commonly  supposed,!  in  view  of  the 
present  passage  and  23^^,  that  the  same  name  also  attached 
to  the  waste  country  in  the  Jordan  valley  just  N.  of  the  Dead 
Sea  and  east  of  the  river,  a  district  in  which  was  situated 
Beth-Jeshimoth  (33*^  n.). — The  verb  and  it  looks  out  (nspt:':i) 
is  in  p,^  fem. ;  the  subst.  should  therefore  be  the  Pisgah,  the 
only  unambiguously  fem.  noun  in  the  context.  But  the  read- 
ing of  the  verbal  form  is  open  to  suspicion  (see  phil.  n.).  If 
corrected  to  a  masc.  it  would  still  be  preferable  to  refer  it  to 
head  (cp.  23-^)  rather  than,  with  Di.,  to  the  valley.  But  in 
any  case  if  the  Jeshimon  intended  lay  to  the  N.E.  of  the  Dead 
Sea,  the  whole  description  points  somewhat  clearly  to  identify- 
ing the  "valley"  with  the  Wady  'AyiTm  M(lsa,|  which  descends 
from  Mt.  Neba  through  the  district  which,  on  the  hypothesis, 
was  called  the  Jeshimon,  into  the  northern  end  of  the  Dead 
Sea. 

The  following'  passages  from  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  562-565,  will 
substantiate  some  of  the  statements  in  the  preceding  notes,  and  further 
elucidate  the  passage: — "During  their  journey  over  the  Tableland, 
Israel  had  no  outlook  westward  across  the  Dead  Sea.  For  westward  the 
Plateau  rises  a  little  and  shuts  out  ali  view,  but  on  the  other  side  of  the 
rise  it  breaks  up  into  promontories  slightly  lower  than  itself,  which  run 
out  over  the  'Arabah  and  Dead  Sea  valley,  and  afford  a  view  of  all 
Western  Palestine.  Seen  from  below,  or  from  across  Jordan,  these 
headlands,  rising  three  or  four  thousand  feet  by  slope  and  precipice  from 
the  valley,  stand  out  like  separate  mountains.  But  eastward  they  do 
not  rise  from  the  Moab  Plateau — they  are  simply  projections  or  capes 
of  the  latter,  and  you  ride  from  it  on  to  them  without  experiencing  any 
differences  of  level,  except,  it  may  be,  a  decline  of  a  few  feet." 

"One  thing  is  certain  :  this  journey  [Nu.  21^^'^"],  though  it  is  described 

*  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  312,  513;  Buhl,  Geog.  96. 
^  E.g.  Di.,  Ges.-Buhl  {s.v.  jid-b"),  Str,,  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.   Geog.  56.) 
n.  I. 

X  Di.,  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  564. 


294  NUMBERS 

in  the  book  of  Numbers  before  the  war  with  Sihon  [Xu.  21^"-],  must  have 
come  after  the  latter.  No  host,  so  large  and  cumbered  as  this,  could 
have  ventured  down  any  of  the  glens  from  the  Plateau  to  the  Jordan 
before  their  own  warriors  had  occupied  Heshbon  [v.-^],  for  Heshbon, 
standing  above  them,  commands  these  glens." 

16.  mN3  CB'Di]  CS  fai  iKeWev  rb  <ppiap :  so  also  S  U  (ex  eo  loco  apparuit 
puteus) :  JEP  (nt3  jin'?  nn'.Tnx  jDnDi).  These  renderings  probably  embody 
the  Haggadah  that  the  water  produced  from  the  rock  at  Kadesh  (20^^-) 
followed  the  Israelites  in  their  subsequent  wanderings  (cp.  i  Cor.  10*). 
2;;jer  and  Jon  take  the  following  verses  as  a  description  of  the  places 
through  which  tiie  water  followed  the  people.  See  Driver  in  Expos.,  1889 
(Jan.),  15-18. — iDN  -Wii  nxan]  cp.  10^. — 17.  "in3  ''jy]  ffi  (wrongly)  ivl  rod 
<f>piaTos.  S  !^hi!,  which  should  be  pointed  either  nhi!,,  n.xn  being  treated 
as  masc,  or  npy  f/te  -well  is  springing  up. — 20.  nsptj'ji]  Frequentative,  and 
it  used  to  look,  if  the  text  be  correct :  Driver,  Tenses^  p.  162  n.  i.  But 
we  should  probably  read  nspiyjn  (cp.  23^^  and  the  rh  ^\iirov  of  ffi  here), 
or  with  S  fiptyjn.  i<-i  is  regularly  masc.  ;  the  single  instance  of  N'J  as  a 
fern.  (Zech.  14^)  is  decidedly  suspicious  in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  is  treated 
in  the  following  verses  as  masc. 

21-33.  The  conquest  and  occupation  of  the  country  between 
Arnon  and  Jabbok,  then  held  by  the  Amorites  under  king 
Sihon. 

The  story  of  the  defeat  of  Sihon  is  told  elsewhere,  rhe- 
torically expanded  in  Dt,  2^^"'''^,  and  in  a  shorter  form  in  Jud. 
J  ji9-22^     There  are  many  allusions  to  it  (see  v.^^  n.). 

The  present  story  is  probably  compiled  from  two  sources  at  least,  and 
possibly  from  three ;  for  the  song  (v.^'^")  may  have  been  derived  direct 
from  an  ancient  collection  by  the  compiler.  Jud.  n^s-^i  appears  related 
to  one  only  of  these  (E),  but  Dt.  2^"^^  may  depend  either  on  the  present 
composite  story  or  on  both  of  those  that  lie  behind  it ;  for  it  refers  to 
the  occupation  of  "cities"  (Dt.  2^'^)  as  well  as  of  the  country  as  a 
whole  (2^').  S  has  in  turn  expanded  the  story  in  Numbers  by  interpola- 
tions from  Dt.,  viz.  of  Dt.  2-*'"  before  v.^^,  of  the  words  diSb'  nan  after 
"iCNH  (v.^^)  from  Dt.  2"^,  of  the  fuller  message  of  Dt.  2^"^^*  (mainly  in 
place  of  v.^),  of  Dt.  2^'  (with  the  necessary  change  of  ''7N  to  nco  hn)  after 
I'^aaa  in  v.^  ;  cp.  Introduction,  §  14. 

21-24a  (E).  The  Israelites  send  messengers  to  the  Amorite 
king"  Sihoa,  asking,  as  they  had  previously  asked  the  Edomites 
(20^*^-),  to  be  permitted  to  pass  peaceably  through  his  country. 
Sihon  refuses,  marches  against  Israel,  engages  in  battle  with 
them  at  Jahas,  and  is  defeated.  The  Israelites  occupy  his 
country. 


XXI.  21-23  295 

21.  And  Israel]  so  Jud.  ii^^  but  (Bi^^^  Moses;  cp.  fl?  in 
20^*  and  Dt.  2-^.  —  Sihon^  king  of  the  Amontes]  Sihon  is 
similarly  titled  (noNH  ibo)  in  v.26  3288,  j  k.  419,  Ps.  135I1  13618 
(cp.  Dt.  31*,  Jos.  2^0  9^0).  cp.  "i-inx  1^?J  V.29.  Frequently  he 
is  entitled  after  his  chief  city,  ki7io-  of  Heshbdn\  so  Dt. 
226.30  ^  296,  Jos.  12^  13^7,  cp.  Neh.  9"-.  Frequently  also  the 
two  descriptions  are  combined:  e.g.  Sihon,  king  of  Heshbon, 
the  Amorite  (Dt.  2^*) :  Silion  the  king  of  the  Amorites,  who 
dtoelt  in  Heshhon  (Dt.  i*) :  see  also  Dt.  32  446,  Jos.  12^  1310-  21, 
Jud.  11^®.  In  the  parallels  to  the  present  passage,  Dt.  2^ 
gives  the  alternative  description  only  [king  of  Jfeshbon),  Jud. 
11I9  gives  both.  How  closely  associated  were  the  names 
of  Sihon  and  Heshbon  appears  in  v. 2^28^  jgj._  ^g-ts^ — yj^g 
territory  of  Sihon  at  this  time  extended,  according  to  the 
present  narrative,  from  Arnon  to  Jabbok  (v.2*),  and  from  the 
wilderness  to  Jordan  (Jud.  ii'^-).  The  embassy,  as  in  the 
similar  negotiations  with  Edom  (20^^),  would  naturally  be  sent 
when  Israel  had  reached  or  were  stationed  on,  but  before  they 
had  crossed,  the  borders  of  the  country  through  which  they 
requested  permission  to  pass,  and  therefore  while  they  were 
still  in  the  wilderness  E.  of  the  Amorite  territory.  That  the 
embassy  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  sent  from  the  wilderness 
appears  indirectly  from  v.^^,  and  the  direct  statement  to  this 
effect  is  preserved  in  Dt.  22^,  which  defines  the  point  as  "  the 
wilderness  of  Kedemoth."  In  v.21,  then,  the  people  are  still 
where  they  were  in  v.^^. — 22.  The  message  closely  resembles, 
but  is  slightly  shorter  than,  that  sent  to  the  Edomites  (20^^). 
It  appears  in  a  much  shorter  form  in  Jud.  11^^  and  much 
expanded  in  S  and  Dt.  2^"^'^^. — Let  me  now  pass  through]  see 
n,  on  20^*.  The  remaining  vbs.  of  the  v.  are  ist  pi.  in  ^: 
but  the  singular  is  retained  almost  throughout  in  the  parallel 
matter  in  S  and  Dt.  22^^-29^ — 23.  To  the  wilderness]  N.  of 
Arnon  and  E.  of  Moab ;  cp.  v.^^,  Dt.  22*5,  and  n.  on  v. 21 
above. — To  Jahas]l\\Q.  site*  remains  uncertain.  It  lay  some- 
where on  the  Moabite  plateau  (Jer.  482^),  and  in  i  Ch.  6^^^''^^ 

•Tristram,  Moab,  124 f.  ;  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  559  n.  8.  In 
addition  to  the  references  to  Jahas  given  in  the  text,  the  OT.  references 
are  Dt.  2^-,  Jos.  13^*  21^*,  Jud.  11-*,  Is.  i5-»,  Jer.  48*^, 


296  NUMBERS 

is  mentioned  along*  with  *' Beser  in  the  wilderness"  and 
Kedemoth,  which  must  also  be  sought  in  or  near  the  wilder- 
ness, since  it  gives  its  name  to  a  part  of  it  (Dt.  2^^).  Mesha"s 
allusion  to  Jahas  ("I  took  it  to  add  it  to  Daibon";  1.  20) 
may  imply  that  it  lay  not  far  from  Dibon.  These  data  for 
what  they  are  worth  point  to  a  place  not  far  north  of  Arnon  * 
and  close  to  the  wilderness  ;  and  this  would  quite  satisfy  the 
requirements  of  the  present  story.  It  is  unnecessary  to  locate 
Jahas  actually  in  the  wilderness.  Israel,  hearing  of  the  approach 
of  Sihon,  would  march  to  meet  him  as  he  was  on  his  way  to- 
wards the  wilderness. — 24.  From  Arnon  to  Jahhok\  On  the 
Arnon,  see  v.^^  n. — The  Jabbok  is  by  common  consent!  iden- 
tified with  the  Nahr  ez-Zerka  (distinct  from  the  Wady  Zerka 
Ma'ln  mentioned  in  the  n.  on  v.^°),  the  head  waters  of  which 
"rise  on  the  edge  of  Moab,  only  some  18  miles  from  the 
Jordan,  yet  to  the  east  of  the  water-parting.  So  the  river 
flows  at  first  desertwards,  under  the  name  of  Amm3.n,  past 
Rabbath-'Ammon  to  the  great  Hajj  road.  There  it  turns 
north,  fetches  a  wider  compass  north-west,  cuts  in  two  the 
range  of  Gilead,  and  by  a  very  winding  bed  flows  west-south- 
west to  the  Jordan  [which  it  joins  at  a  point  about  25  miles 
in  a  direct  line  from  the  Dead  Sea].  The  whole  course,  not 
counting  the  windings,  is  over  60  miles  "  (G.  A.  Smith,  Hist. 
Geog.  p.  584).  Like  the  Arnon,  it  has  always  formed  one  of 
the  frontiers  of  E.  Palestine  {ib. :  cp.  also  p.  539).  In  Jud. 
11^^  (cp.  v.^^)  Jabbok  is  quite  clearly  given  as  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  Amorites,  the  eastern  and  western  borders 
being  also  given  as  the  wilderness  and  the  Jordan  respectively. 
It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  here  also  the  Jabbok  is  the 
northern  boundary,  and  consequently  that  unto  the  children 
of '^Amnion  (cp.  Jos.  13^°)  is  not  in  apposition  to  Jabbok,  but 
states  tersely  a  third,  viz.  the  easte-m,  boundary  (cp.  Jud. 
11^^).  The  whole  means,  then,  that  Israel  occupied  the  land 
between  Arnon  on  the   S.    and    Jabbok    on   the    N.,    as    far 

*  North  of  Dibon,  if  we  may  suppose  Jerome  well  informed,  and  Debus 
an  error  for  Dibon  in  his  statement  "  et  usque  hodie  ostenditur  inter 
Medaban  et  Debus,"  Onom.  131^^. 

t  See,  e.g..  Buhl,  Geog.  122  ;  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  583  f. 


XXI.  24  297 

east  as  the 'Ammonite  country;  this  last  lay  round  about  the 
upper  courses  of  the  Nahr  ez-Zerka  on  which  Rabbath-'Ammon 
was  situated  ;  cp.  Jos.  13^'',  Dt.  2^7  3^^.  Still  this  mode  of 
defining-  the  eastern  border  may  be  due  merely  to  the  com- 
piler (see  next  note) ;  and  the  original  definition  may  rather 
be  found  In  Jud.  1 1-^. — Forjdzer  was  the  border  of  the  children 
of  'Ammon]  This  is  the  reading  of  (5,  and  probably  of  the 
original  text.  The  meaning  is  that  Ja'zer  was  on  the  boundary 
between  the  Amorites  and  the  'Ammonites  (cp.  v.^^).  In  Jud. 
1 1^^22  ^ji  y  2i-24a  here)  no  reference  is  made  to  'Ammon.  Since 
the  reference  to  cities  indicates  that  the  compiler  in  v.^^  draws 
on  a  source  different  from  that  used  in  v.^**  (see  p.  280),  the 
transition  to  this  source  may  well  be  placed  at  the  words  unfo 
tJie  sons  of  ^Aminon  in  v. 2*^,  which  attach  awkwardly  to  the 
preceding.  If  this  be  admitted  it  is  unnecessary  to  regard  the 
last  clause  of  the  verse  as  a  gloss.*  The  text  of  II?,  for 
the  border  of  the  children  of  'Ammon  was  strong  (in  which  <>', 
strongs  is  probably  a  corruption  of  "ity,  Jdzer),  has  been  ex- 
plained (i)  as  giving  the  reason  why  Sihon  had  not  extended 
his  conquests  further:!  such  a  clause  might  have  followed 
V.28 ;  it  is  out  of  place  here ;  (2)  as  accounting  for  the  fact 
that  the  Israelites  did  not  capture  the  'Ammonite  as  well  as 
the  Amorite  country ;  in  that  case  the  passage  would  repre- 
sent a  different  point  of  view  from  Dt.  2^^,  according  to 
which  Yahweh  commanded  the  Israelites  to  leave  the 
'Ammonites  unmolested  in  the  possession  of  their  ancestor 
Lot.  Linguistically  the  rendering  of  Ty  by  strong  in  the 
sense  of  ^^  well  fortified  "  whether  naturally  or  artificially,  is 
unparalleled  and  questionable.  Ja'zer  is  mentioned  frequently 
in  OT.  ;  see  more  particularly  Jos.  13-^,  which  supports  the 
suggestion  of  v.^^  that  it  was  not  at  this  time,  as  in  the 
Maccabsean  period  it  had  become  (i  Mac.  5^),  'Ammonitish. 
During  parts  of  the  interval  it  belonged  to  Moab  (Is.  i6^^-, 
Jer.  48^^).  The  site  is  uncertain ;  according  to  Eusebius 
[Onom.  264^^^-)  it  lay  15  (Roman)  miles  from  Heshbon  and 
10  W.,  according  to  Jerome  about  8  W.  [Onom.  86-"'^-  ;  cp. 

*  Meyer,  ZATW.  i.  120  n.  i  ;  Stade,  GVL  120  n.  i. 
t  Knobel,  Keil. 


298  NUMBERS 

Eusebius,  Onom.  262-'')  of  Philadelphia  (  =  Rabbatli-'Ammon). 
These  data  are  tolerably  satisfied  by  the  site  of  Sar  (two 
hours  S.W.  of  Rabbath-'Ammon),  or  the  neighbouring  place 
Sir ;  *  but  the  sibilants  in  these  names  are  not  the  same  as 
in  Ja'zer.  Cheyne  f  identifies  Ja'zer  with  Yajuz,  a  little  W. 
of  El-Jubeihat  (  =  Jogbehah,  323^),  N.W.  of  Rabbath-'Ammon  ; 
others  with  Beit-zera',  a  long  way  S.W.  of  Rabbath-'Ammon.:}: 
— 25.  Israel  captures  and  enters  on  the  occupation  of  all  the 
Amorite  cities.  This  is  parallel  to  v.^^'* ;  but  it  is  differently 
expressed,  and  represents  a  rather  different  point  of  view. 
Here  the  cities,  there  the  country  as  a  whole,  is  occupied. 
— All  these  cities]  There  is  nothing  in  what  now  precedes 
for  these  words  to  refer  to.  The  verse  is  probably  a  closing 
summary  of  the  capture  of  several  individual  Amorite  cities 
(cp.  v.32  and  32^),  and  the  source  from  whence  it  is  derived 
may  have  represented  the  conquest  of  the  Amorite  country 
E.  of  Jordan  in  the  same  manner  as  the  conquest  of  Western 
Canaan  is  represented  in  Jud.  i,  i.e.  as  a  gradual  conquest 
city  by  city  rather  than  as  a  sudden  and  complete  occupation 
of  the  whole  country  (v.^^). — A?id  Israel  dwelt  in  all  the  cities 
of  the  Amorites]  the  parallel  statement  in  E,  "and  Israel 
dwelt  in  the  la?td  of  the  Amorites,"  is  postponed  to  v.^^. 
Possibly  as  an  editorial  link  with  the  following  verses,  the 
most  famous  of  these  Amorite  cities  is  now  specially  men- 
tioned, Heshhd7i  and  all  its  daughters^  the  last  phrase  meaning 
all  the  dependent  towns.  According  to  32^^-  Heshbon,  though 
conquered,  was  still  unoccupied  by  the  Hebrews  at  a  later 
time  than  this.  The  site  of  Heshbon  is  certain,  the  name 
surviving  in  Hesban,  which  is  finely  situated  on  hills  higher 
than  Mt.  Neba,  which  is  5  miles  away  to  the  S.W.§ — 26. 
Heshbon  was  at  the  time  in  question  one  of  the  Amorite 
cities ;  for  though  it  had  previously  belonged  to  Moab,  it 
had  been  wrested,  with  all  the  country  N.  of  Arnon,  by 
Sihon  from  the  former  king  of  Moab. — For  Heshhon  was  the 
city  of  Sihon  the  king  of  the  Amorites\  cp.  v.^^  n. — All  his  land 

*  Seetzen,  Reisen,  i.  397f.,  406,  ii.  318,  iv.  216  ;  Buhl,  Geog.  263  f. 

t  In  EBi.,  following-  Oliphant,  Land  of  Gilead,  231  ff.. 

X  Survey  of  Eastern  Palestine,  i.  91.  §  lb.  i.  104-10S. 


XXI.  25-27  299 

out  of  his  hand  unto  Anioi{\  perhaps  this  originally  ran,  All 
his  land  from  Jahbok  to  Amon\  cp.  v.-^,  Jud.  ii^^,  and  see 
phil.  note,  below.  In  any  case,  as  in  v.^^,  Arnon  is  the 
southern  limit  of  Sihon's  conquest. 

23.  ns.T]  The  original  name  of  the  town  was  |ti'  (Is.  15*.  Jer.  48^, 
Meslid  11.  19 f.);  but  in  OT.  it  is  more  frequently  found  with  the  locative 
ending  (note  the  penultimate  accentuation),  whether  (as  here  and  in  Dt. 
2^iJ  with  or,  as  elsewhere,  without  any  locative  force ;  cp.  njon  and  rTn:wn 
{e.g.  Jud.  14-) ;  Kon.  iii.  26912  b. — 24.  mn  'sV]  an  old  phrase ;  not  used  by 
P,  but  common  to  JE  D  (CH.  iSoJ'^). — 26.  itd]  the  position  of  the  clause 
between  isiN  and  the  clause  that  defines  it  jns  ^J7  is  suspicious.  (&from 
'Aro'er  is  in  itself  quite  improbable,  for  the  well-known  'Aro'er  lay  close  to 
the  Arnon,  and  it  is  unlikely  that  the  boundary  would  have  been  defined  by 
the  'Aro'er  of  Jos.  13=^ ;  but  it  (|^)  and  inin  ((5)  may  be  different  corrup- 
tions of  p3':  see  above  and  Meyer,  .^ATW.  i.  129  n.  3. 

27-30.  At  this  point  the  editor  introduces  an  old  poem  in 
illustration  of  his  narrative.  The  point  which  he  probably 
intends  it  to  illustrate  is  the  conquest  of  Moab  by  the  Amorites 
(v.^^). —  Wherefore  the  reciters  of  mesJidlifn  say]  the  similarity 
of  the  introductory  formulae  here  and  in  v.^*  may  point  to  the 
same  editor ;  but  if  so  the  difference  between  them  indicates 
that  he  has  taken  the  two  songs  from  different  sources,  the 
one  from  a  book,  the  other  directly  from  men's  lips.  The 
frequently  repeated  suggestion  that  this  poem,  like  that  in 
v.^*^-,  was  derived  from  the  Book  of  Yahweh's  Battles  is  there- 
fore improbable.  The  persons  who  were  accustomed  to  recite 
this  poem  are  called  D'''?'^*l3n  ;  the  pi.,  the  art.,  the  frequentative 
tense  of  the  following  vb.  (litSX'')  all  indicate  that  a  class  of 
people  is  intended.  The  vb.  7k^'D  is  a  denominative ;  it  might 
mean  to  make  a  mashdl:  in  usage  it  actually  means  to  y tier  or 
repeat  a  mashdl,  and  that  not  always,  at  all  events,  of  one's 
own  making  {e.g.  Ezek.  i8"^-).  So  the  class  here  described 
consisted  of  men  who  were  primarily  reciters  of  poems.  It  is 
easy  to  imagine  how  these  reciters  went  about  in  Israel  and, 
especially  in  time  of  war,  by  reciting  poems  like  the  present 
(cp.  Is.  14^'^-;  also  Hab.  2**),  and  thus  recalling  former  victories, 
stimulated  and  encouraged  the  people  (cp.  Jud.  5^^).  But 
possibly  the  repertoire  of  these  ''ballad-singers"  (Perowne  in 
Smith,  DB.  ii.  584^)  was  not  confined  to  odes  of  war  and 


300  NUMBERS 

victory;  and  there  is  certainly  no  justification  for  limiting 
the  sense  of  the  participle  of  the  denominative  verb  here 
used  to  satirists,  for  mashcll  (23'^  n.  ;  see  also  Addenda)  is  a 
term  of  various  applications,  and  satire  is  neither  the  original 
nor  even  the  most  frequent  meaning  of  the  word.  Conse- 
quently the  interpretation  of  the  following  poem  must  be 
determined  purely  by  internal  evidence,  and  without  any 
prejudice  that  it  must  be  a  satire. 

The  view  that  the  poem  is  the  work  of  an  Amorite  poet 
celebrating  the  victory  of  his  people  over  Moab  *  may  be 
dismissed  as  inherently  improbable.  Sufficient  ambiguities 
and  possibilities  of  interpretation  remain,  however,  when  the 
poem  is  regarded  as  being,  what  it  doubtless  was,  the  work 
of  a  Hebrew  poet.  The  one  thing  that  is  clear  is  that  the 
poem  celebrates  a  victory  over  Moab.  Every  thing  else  is 
more  or  less  uncertain.  The  ambiguous  details  are  dealt 
with  in  the  notes.  It  is  necessary  here  to  discuss  briefly  the 
general  motive  and  purpose  of  the  poem. 

I.  Since  Ewald,t  the  view  most  commonly  held  has  been 
that  the  poem  is  a  satiric  ode.;  In  the  words  of  W.  R. 
Smith,  "  the  children  of  Israel  invite  the  Amorites  to  return 
and  fortify  the  demolished  fastness  of  their  king,  Sihon, 
exalting  that  monarch's  prowess  against  Moab,  in  order  to 
bring  into  stronger  light  the  valour  of  Israel,  beneath  which 
the  invincible  Amorite  and  his  stronghold  had  for  ever 
fallen."  §  On  this  view,  v.^'^^-  is  addressed  mockingly  by  the 
victorious  Israelites  to  the  now  conquered  Amorites  ;  in  v.-^ 
the  Israelites  address  the  Moabites,  who  had  been  conquered 
not  by  themselves,  but  by  the  Amorites  :  in  v.^°  the  Israelites 
exultantly  record  their  own  conquest  of  the  Amorites.  In 
brief,  the  thought  is — the  Amorites  destroyed  Moab,  but  "jae, 
the  Israelites,  have  destroyed  theniy  viz.  the  Amorites.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  v.^*^  should  contain  a  strong  antithesis, 

*  Knobel.  t  History  (Eng.  tr.),  ii.  205-207. 

X  Ewald's  view  is  substantially  adopted  by  W.  R.  Smith  {Brit.  Quarterly 
Review,  Ixv.  (Jan.  1877)  67),  Keil,  Str.,  G.  A.  Smith  {Hist.  Geog.  560); 
cp.  Sayce,  Early  Hist,  of  the  Hebrews,  227, 

§  British  Qitarterly  Revie-^v,  Ixv.  (Jan.  1877)  67. 


XXI.   27  2^1 

both  subject  and  object  requiring-  emphasis.  Unfortunately 
the  text  of  v.^^  is  very  questionable ;  but  one  thing-  is  certain: 
it  does  not  contain  an  emphatic  antithesis.  The  first  word 
of  the  V.  (d")":'))  may  be  a  verbal  form  with  a  pronominal 
suffix;  but  even  if  so,  neither  subject  nor  object  is  empha- 
sised ;  the  construction  with  the  impf.  and  waw  conversive 
should  smoothly  carry  on  what  precedes.  There  is  not  the 
slightest  indication  that  the  conquerors  of  v.^"  are  different 
from  those  who  are  represented  as  conquerors  in  v.^'^^-,  and 
consequently  the  poem  itself  contains  no  indication  that  v.^'^'- 
are  tauntingly  spoken.  On  this  ground  the  view  in  question 
appears  to  the  present  writer  in  the  highest  deg-ree  improbable. 
2.  Breaking-  loose  from  the  suggestion  of  the  Hebrew 
editor  and  the  last  line  of  v.-^  (which  they  regard  as  a  gloss) 
that  the  poem  has  anything  to  do  with  the  Amorites,  Meyer 
and  Stade  have  argued  that  it  is  a  triumphal  ode  celebrating- 
throughout  a  victory  of  Israel  over  Moab.  They  regard  the 
first  word  of  v.^^  as  a  noun.  But  even  if  it  should  be  taken 
as  a  verb,  it  is  no  longer  open  to  the  same  criticism  as  in  the 
case  of  the  first  view  of  the  poem.  No  emphatic  antithesis 
is  required  at  this  point  by  the  present  theory ;  for  the  same 
people  (the  Israelites)  who  in  v.^'^  exhort  one  another  to 
occupy  the  cities  captured  from  Moab,  continue,  though  no 
longer  in  the  second  person  of  mutual  exhortation,  but  directly 
in  the  first  person,  to  describe  their  destruction  of  Moab. 
This  theory  is  not  without  difficulties,  though  the  necessity  for 
regarding  v.^^®  as  a  gloss  is  scarcely  one  of  these.  The  chief 
difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  natural,  though  perhaps 
not  the  inevitable,  inference  is  that  Sihon  was  actually  a  king 
of  Moab,  and  only  became  turned  into  a  king  of  the  Amorites 
in  later  traditions. 

The  determination  of  the  date  or  the  poem  must  obviously  depend  on 
the  interpretation.  Stade  not  unreasonably  refers  it  to  about  B.C.  900,  the 
period  of  the  conquest  of  Moab  b}''Oniri  which  is  referred  to  in  Mesha's 
inscription  ;  cp.  Wellhausen,  Comp.  343.  On  the  first  view  of  the  inter- 
pretation the  poem  might  be  much  older. 

'^'^  Come  ye  to  Heshbon  !     Let  it  be  rebuilt  I 
Let  the  city  of  Sihon  be  established  1 


302  NUMBERS 

^  For  fire  went  out  from  Heshbon, 

Flame  from  the  town  of  Sihon ; 

It  devoured  'Ar  of  Moab, 

The  lords  of  the  high  places  of  Arnon. 
2"-^  Woe  to  thee,  Moab  ! 

Undone  art  thou,  people  of  Kemosh  : 

Who  has  made  his  sons  fugitives, 

And  his  daughters  captives, 

[To  an  Amorite  king  Sihon.] 
2"  So  their  posterity  has  perished  from  Heshbon  to  Dibon 

to  Medeba. 
Come  ye  to  Heshh6n\  the  speakers  are  the  Israelites  :  either 
they  exhort  themselves  to  occupy  and  rebuild  the  cities  de- 
stroyed in  their  conquest  of  the  Amorites,  or  they  mockingly 
address  the  conquered  Amorites,  according  to  which  of  the 
views  discussed  above  be  adopted. — The  city  of  Si]ion\  an 
epithet  of  Heshbon,  just  as  "  the  city  of  David  "  (2  S.  5'^,  i  K. 
a^'',  and  often)  is  of  a  part  of  Jerusalem.  That  Heshbon  ranked 
as  the  chief  city  of  Sihon  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  king  of 
Heshbon  and  king  of  the  Amorites  are  alternative  titles  given 
to  him  (v.-^  n.).  Certainly  such  a  description  of  Heshbon  in 
an  Israelitish  triumphal  ode  over  Moab  would  be  most  easily 
accounted  for  if  Sihon  were  a  king  of  Moab.  Yet  it  is 
possible  that  among  the  Israelites  this  name  clung  to 
Heshbon  long  after  the  Amorite  power  had  passed  away. — 
— Be  rebuilt]  nJ3  frequently  has  this  sense;  see  Jos.  6-*^,  Am. 
9^*. — 28.  For  fire  -went  forth  from  Heshbdn\  this  appears  to 
give  the  reason  for  the  summons  of  v.-'': — Come  and  rebuild 
Heshbon,  for  now,  together  with  the  country  as  far  S.  as 
Arnon,  it  lies  overthrown  and  wasted  by  war.  Those  who 
adopt  Ewald's  view  of  the  poem  give  no  satisfactory  explana- 
tion of  the  y^r  (''3):  Di.,  for  example,  says  vaguely  that  the 
ground  or  explanation  of  the  mocking  summons  of  v.^^  is  not 
contained  in  v.^^  alone,  but  in  v. 2^"^".  It  has,  indeed,  been 
subtly  argued  that  the  phrase  fire  went  forth  from  Heshbon  can- 
not refer  to  the  desolation  of  Heshbon  itself  by  a  foreign  foe, 
but  must  mean  that  Heshbon  caused  the  desolation  of  Moab.'" 
•  Kuen.  Th.  Tijd.  xviii.  525  ;  Di. 


XXI.  27,  28  2>'^2 

But  two  of  the  passag-es  (Lev.  lo^,  Nu.  i6^)  cited  by  Kue. 
to  prove  this  ought  at  once  to  be  dismissed  from  con- 
sideration, since  the  phrases  used  are  significantly  differ- 
ent, viz.  not  from.,  but  from  with  (nsn)  and  from,  before 
("33^0).  It  is  true  that  in  the  others  (Jud.  9^5.20^  Ezek.  19^^) 
the  phrase  is  used  of  the  starting-point  of  the  conflagration, 
but  surely  not  of  the  cause ;  the  bramble  of  Jotham's  parable, 
from  which  fire  gDes  forth,  is  itself  consumed,  and  not 
apparently,  in  the  intention  of  the  writer,  by  self-combustion : 
the  case  is  similar  in  Ezek.  19^*.  The  actual  meaning  of  the 
phrase  is  rendered  still  clearer  by  the  use  of  the  Hiphil 
(followed  by  "]inD),  which  admits  of  the  statement  of  the  cause 
as  well  as  of  the  starting-point  of  the  conflagration  (Ezek. 
28^^).  To  judge,  then,  by  the  use  of  the  phrase,  the  meaning 
of  the  poem  is  that  Heshb6n  and  the  country  southwards  to 
Arnon  suffered  the  same  fate,  the  cause  of  which  is  not 
directly  stated,  but  is  most  naturally  understood  to  be  the 
speakers  in  the  poem.  Obviously,  if  this  be  the  meaning,  it 
does  not  apply  to  a  war  victoriously  made  on  Moab  by  the 
king  of  Heshbon.  Further,  since  the  line  of  devastation  and 
conquest  proceeds  southwards  from  Heshbon,  it  cannot  refer 
to  Israel's  conquest  of  the  Amorites,  which  proceeded  north- 
wards from  Arnon  towards  Heshbon.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
describes  the  natural  line  of  conquest  in  a  war  waged 
victoriously  by  Israel,  during  the  period  of  the  monarchy,  on 
Moab.  It  is,  of  course,  legitimate,  and,  if  the  first  view  of 
the  poem  were  adopted,  it  would  be  best  to  render  for  fire  had 
gone  forth.  But  this  rendering  is  not  necessary:  the  emphatic 
word  naturally  stands  first  after  the  causal  ^a,  even  when  no 
pluperfect  sense  is  required  or  even  possible  (cp.  Gn.  2^-  "^  3^'^) : 
here  the  subj.  {fire)  is  put  first  because  it  is  the  emphatic 
word,  since  it  and  not  the  verb  contains  the  idea  of  destruc- 
tion.— 'Ar  of  Moal}\  v.^^  n. — The  lords  of  the  heights  of  Amon\ 
For  the  first  word  (vys),  Cj  has  a  verb  [KaTetrtev)  parallel  to 
the  verb  in  the  previous  clause.  (JJ  apparently  read  the 
word  ypiini  =  a?td  swallowed  down,  which  is  hardly  suitable. 
But  some  verb  implying  destruction  may  well  have  stood  in 
the  original  text.     If  ^?  be  right,  the  lords  are  the  proprietors^ 


304  NUMBERS 

freeholders  of  the  district  (Jos.  24^^,  Jud.  g^,  i  S.  23^^).  The 
word  nV02  appears  to  be  used  here  without  a  religious  refer- 
ence simply  of  the  heights  along  the  Arnon  (cp.  Ezek.  36^, 
Dt.  32^^) :  but  2r  interprets  the  phrase  lords  of  the  heights  as 
heathen  priests. — 29.  The  poet  addresses  Moab,  the  conquest 
of  whose  northern  territory  has  been  just  described.  Kemosh 
was  the  name  of  the  national  deity  of  Moab :  i  K.  1 1^  and 
Mesha"s  inscription,  ^«^^z;w.  The  Israelites,  who  called  them- 
selves the  people  of  Vahweh  (Jud.  5^^,  Ex.  15^^),  quite  naturally 
called  the  Moabites  the  people  of  Kemosh :  for  in  early  times 
the  Israelites  questioned  the  real  existence  of  the  god  of  a 
neighbouring  people  just  as  little  as  the  real  existence  of 
Yahweh;  see,  especially,  Jud.  ii^**-.  The  disasters  that 
had  befallen  the  Moabites  proved  to  the  author  of  the  poem 
the  anger  of  the  Moabite  god  with  his  people ;  for  it  is  to 
Kemosh  that  he  ascribes  the  flight  and  capture  of  the  Moabite 
men  and  women.  The  same  view  was  taken  of  similar 
disasters  by  the  Moabite  king  Mesha*  himself,  who  writes : 
"'Omrl.  .  .  afflicted  Moab  for  many  days,  because  Kemosh 
was  angry  with  his  land  "  (Mesha"s  Inscr.  11. 4f.).  The  Moabite 
men  and  women  are  described  as  sons  and  daughters  of  Kemosh 
in  accordance  with  an  ancient  mode  of  thought  which  has 
left  its  mark  on  a  type  of  personal  names  common  to  many 
of  the  Semitic  peoples :  instances  are  Abi'el,  Abiba'al, 
Abiyahu,  meaning  respectively  God,  Ba'al,  Yahweh  is  Father.* 
In  the  citation  from  this  poem  in  Jer.  48^^^  these  traces  of 
early  thought  are  obliterated  ;  the  people  are  described  as  sons 
and  daughters  of  Moab.,  and  their  capture  is  not  attributed 
to  the  anger  of  their  god,  but  is  expressed  by  a  passive  vb. 
— To  the  king  of  the  A?norites,  Sihon^  the  style  is  somewhat 
strange  ;  see  phil.  n.  The  line  is  questionable,  since  it  forms 
the  single  exception  to  the  two-lined  parallelism  which 
otherwise  extends  uniformly  through  the  poem.  It  is  not 
improbably  a  gloss. — 30.  The  text  is  corrupt,  and  nothing 
certain  can  be  made  of  the  verse.  If,  as  in  the  above  transla- 
tion, we  adopt  the  reading  of  Cj  [koI  to  arripfia  avrcov  =  ^3"'?^.)> 
it  continues  the  description  of  the  calamity  that  had  befallen 
*  G.  B.  Gray,  Hebrew  Proper  Names,  21-S6. 


XXI.  29-32  305 

Moab ;  and  if  we  may  further  restore  from^  with  U  and  ^ 
(cp.  (G^  iv  —  1  which  is  very  frequently  confused  with  c), 
before  Heshbon,  the  extent  of  the  calamity  and  the  direc- 
tion from  which  it  came  correspond  to  what  is  differently 
described  in  v.-^ ;  see  note  there.  Dibon  is  the  modern 
Dhiban,  about  4  miles  N.  of  Arnon.*  Others  find  in  the  v. 
two  verbs  in  the  ist  pers.  pi.,  and  suppose  that  there  is  a 
sudden  return  (cp.  v.-^)  to  the  Israelites'  victory  over  the 
Arnorites  ;  then  we  =  Israel:  them  =  the  Amorites.  On  various 
conjectures  of  varying  degrees  of  uncertainty,  see  phil.  note. 
The  name  of  Medeba  mentioned  at  the  end  of  the  v.  (and 
also  Is.  15^,  Jos.  13^-  ^'^,  I  Ch.  19'^^")  survives  in  the  modern 
Madeba,  which  lies  between  Hesban  and  Ma'in.  According 
to  MT.  another  place,  Nophah,  is  also  mentioned ;  it  is  quite 
unknown. — 31.  Israel  settles  down  in  the  Amorite  country , 
This  is  the  sequel  to  v.-*'*,  and  a  parallel  statement  to  v.^^^* 
It  is  the  conclusion  of  one  of  the  narratives  of  the  conquest 
of  the  Amorites. — 32.  Here  the  editor  has  added  a  detail 
from  another  account,  viz.  the  capture  of  Ja'zer  and  the 
dependent  cities,  and  the  expulsion  of  the  Amorites  resident 
therein. 

27.  piani]  see  for  the  form,  G.-K.  54c;  for  the  (comparatively)  rare 
passive  sense  of  the  Hithpael,  Kon.  iii,  loi. — 28.  n^.i'?]  ffic^  S  +  1,  cp.  Jen  48^' 
(1&). — nnpo]  Jer.  \ir^,  which  is  probably  an  error  for  n'ao. — n'?3N]  Jer. 
"rDxm  (cp.  Shere). — ny]  Gr  S  S  erroneously  ny:  in  Jer.  nxsj  is  from  Nu.  24"^', 
which  is  there  substituted  for  the  present  close  of  the  v. — 29.  max]  Jer.  nax. 
— n'3:^']  S  'nc ;  n'2c  elsewhere  occurs  only  in  the  phrase  vciw  niB" :  for  the 
present  sense,  we  find  elsewhere  'nsi'  or  ■tdb'. — ncx]  if  adjectival,  cp.  Gn. 
14^^,  Dt.  2-''.  The  people  are  elsewhere  referred  to  collectively  by  the  sing. 
■with  the  art.  in  poetry  (e.g.  Ps.  136^^)  as  well  as  in  prose.  The  omission 
of  the  art.  (which  S  supplies)  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  word  is 
here  intended  to  be  taken  adjectively  {to  an  Amorite  J^ing),  which  gives  a 
strange  expression,  or  to  poetic  licence  (Kue.),  or  to  a  glossator's  brevity  of 
stj'le  (Meyer).  The  quotation  in  Jer.  breaks  off  with  the  preceding  line. — 
30.  D'2'31  .  .  .  DT3i]  none  of  the  ancient  versions  recognise  verbs  in  these 
words.  The  modern  attempts  to  translate  the  words  as  verbs  make  the 
lines  extraordinarilj'  harsh  and  obscure :  Di.  e.g.  renders  the  former 
line,  we  shot  at  (m")  theiti  (and  in  consequence  of  our  shooting,  i.e.  of  our 
fighting)  Heshbon  was  tmdone  unto  Dibon  {i.e.  the  whole  district  unto 
Dibon  was  undone  as  well  as  Heshbon).     For  other  views,  see  Di.     The 

•  Tristram,  Land  of  Moah,  131  ff. ;  Buhl,  Geog.  268. 
30 


306  NUMBERS 

second  line  is  still  more  irrecoverable.  For  ib'n  S  G  read  trx,  a  reading 
which  is  probably  indicated  in  MT.  by  the  dot  over  the  n :  otherwise 
the  Versions  show  variations  through  misunderstanding  rather  than 
variants.  (5,  for  example,  renders  Kai  al  yvvaiKes  avrwv  ^n  irpocre^eKavcrav 
nvp  iw)  Mud^,  which  Meyer  [ZATW.  i.  130)  takes  seriously  and  adopts, 
with  the  substitution  of  N3TD  from  ftj  for  the  Mwd/3  of  <Sc.  An  extraordinary 
suggestion  of  Delitzsch's  should  be  mentioned,  since  it  has  gained  the 
approval  of  Di.,  Str.,  and,  hesitatingly,  of  BDB.  (under  ns:) :  according 
to  this,  the  line  read  N3TD  ny  vi<  nsj  ly  a>v\  =  and  we  laid  7vaste  until  fire 
'.vas  blown  as  far  as  Medeba.  Paterson  and  Haupt  (SBOT.)  make  the 
whole  V.  satisfactory  to  themselves  by  the  simple  process  of  omitting 
jauTi  13N  and  k^td  ny  irx  as  glosses.  The  punctuators  probably  took 
□•c'Ji  as  ist  pi.  Hiphil  of  DDsy  (G.-K.  67/).  For  the  punctuation  of  the 
suffix  in  D731,  if  a  verb,  see  G.-K.  60^.— 31.  i'lxi]  S  n:;3,  CJ  ny  ^33  by 
assimilation  to  v."  H 

33-35.  The  conquest  of  'Og  and  occupation  of  Bashan. — 
V.^^-  is  verbally  identical  with  Dt.  3^'-,  except  that  the  ist 
persons  of  Moses'  speech  in  Dt.  here  become  the  3rd  persons 
of  narrative,  as  in  similar  interpolations  in  S  from  Dt.  V.^^ 
is  abbreviated  from  Dt.  3^.  The  clause  and  his  sons,  which 
appears  here  in  P?  thoug-h  not  in  S,  is  not  found  in  Dt.  3^ : 
but  cp.  Dt.  2^.  The  last  clause  of  the  v.,  and  we  possessed 
/lis  land,  may  be  regarded  as  a  summary  of  the  subsequent 
narrative  in  Dt.  (especially  3^^"*).  In  view  of  these  facts 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  story  of  'Og*  has  been 
incorporated  in  Nu.  from  Dt. ;  and  this  accounts  for  the  lack 
of  reference  to  it  in  22^  (cf.  also  Jud.  1 1-^).  The  tendency  to 
interpolate  the  text  of  Nu.  from  Dt.,  which  is  so  marked  in 
S  (Introd.  §  i4«),  has  here  also  influenced  P|.  For  notes  on 
the  passage,  see  on  Dt.  3^"^. 

XXII.  1  (P).  Israel  encamp  in  the  steppes  of  Moab,  opposite 
Jericho. — The  v.  forms  no  natural  sequel  to  the  account 
either  of  the  occupation  of  Bashan  {21^3-35^^  or  even  of  the 
occupation  of  the  country  between  Arnon  and  Jabbok  (2i2i-32^. 
It  belong-s  to  the  itinerary  which  was  broken  off  at  21^^  by 
the  introduction  of  matter  from  another  source. 

And  the  children  of  Israel  jonmeyed\  the  same  phrase  as  in 
2iiof.^  The  point  of  departure  has  been  omitted;  probably 
it  was  given  in  the  source  as  "the  mountains  of  the  Abarim" 
(33^). — The  steppes  of  Moab]  is  a  term  peculiar  to  P  (263- '^^ 
2ii2  3343-50  25I  36^3^  Dt.  34^-^  Jos.    13^- 1).      It  denotes  the 


XXI.  33-XXII.  2  307 

low  country  E.  of  Jordan  and  immediately  N.  of  the  Dead 

Sea.     The  corresponding-  flat  country  on  the  W.  of  Jordan 

went  by  the  name  of  the  steppes  of  Jericho  (Jos.  4^^  5^°  (P) ; 

2  K  25^=Jer.  39^  =  52^!).     The  steppes  of  Moah  extended  at 

least  from  Beth-Jeshimoth  to  Abel-Shittim  {'^'^^^  n.),  and  the 

term  no  doubt  covers  the  whole  of  the  open  plain  from  5  to 

7  miles  broad,  into  which  the  Jordan  valley  expands  on  the 

E.,   some  9  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.     This  plain 

is  covered  with  trees,  and  well  watered;    see  Driver's  note 

on  Dt.  34I. 

inv  pr]  JTI'  is  cstr.  (G.-K.  125//),  since  in  prose  it  always  takes  the 
art.  when  absolute.  The  phrase  thus  means  the  Jordan  of  Jericho,  i.e. 
that  part  of  the  Jordan  which  flows  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Jericho. 


XXII.  2-XXIV.  25  (JE).  Moab  and  Israel. 

Literature. — Verschuir,  Dissertatio  de  oracuUs  Bileami  (1773); 
Hengstenbergf,  Die  Geschichte  Bileams  u.  seine  Weissagtingen  (1842); 
Reinke,  Beitrdge  zur  Erkldrung  des  AT.  (1855)  iv,  179-287;  Ewald, 
Jahrhiicher  der  bibl.  Wissenschaft  (1856),  viii.  1-41  ;  Oort,  Dispidatio  de 
Pericope  Num.  xxii.  2-xxiv.  (i860) ;  Kalisch,  Bible  Studies,  part  i.  (1877); 
Kuenen,  "Bileam"  in  Th.  Tijd,  (1884)  xviii.  497-540;  Wellhausen,  Comp. 
111-113,  346-351;  Van  Hoonacker,  "Quelques  Observations  Critiques 
sur  les  Recits  concernant  Bileam  "  in  Le  Musifon  (1SS8),  vii.  61-76  ;  Franz 
Delitzsch,  "Zur  neuesten  Literatur  iiber  den  Abschnitt  Bileam"  in 
Zeitschr.  f.  kirch.  Wiss.  (188S)  pp.  117-126;  Cheyne,  "Some  critical 
Difficulties  in  the  Chapters  on  Balaam  "  in  Expository  Times  (1899),  x. 
399-402;  Wobersin,  Die  Echtheit  der  BiVamspriiche  (1900);  von  Gall, 
Ziisarnmensetzung  ti.  Herkunft  der  Bileam-Perikope  (1900).  For  other 
earlier  literature,  see  Reinke,  op.  cit.  205-207. 

The  Israelites,  fresh  from  their  conquest  of  the  Amorites 
(22^),  are  now  settled  on  the  border  of  Moab,  and  fill  Balak, 
king-  of  Moab,  and  his  people  with  fear  (v.^*-).  The  Moabites 
prepare  for  battle  (v.^-  ^^) ;  but  in  order  that  his  undertaking 
may  be  successful,  Balak  sends  messengers,  carrying  a  suitable 
fee  for  the  service  required  (v.''),  to  a  foreigner  whose  name  is 
Balaam,  and  who  is  distinguished  for  the  effect  of  his  cursings 
and  blessings,  that  he  may  come  and  formally  curse  Israel 
before  the  war  begins  (v.*^-  ^^),  Balaam  at  first  refuses  on  the 
ground  that  Yahweh  withholds  His  permission  (v.^~^^)  ;  Balak 
sends  a  more  impressive  embassy  (v.^^~^'^) ;   Balaam  receives 


308  NUMBERS 

Yahweh's  permission  to  go,  but  only  to  do  as  He  tells  him, 
and  goes  {v.'^^'^^).  On  the  way  Yahweh  manifests  Himself  to 
Balaam  and  his  ass  (which  miraculously  addresses  its  master), 
and  makes  known  His  anger  with  him  for  going;  Yahweh 
gives  him  permission  to  go,  but  only  to  speak  what  He  tells 
him  (v.^-"^^).  Balak  meets  Balaam  at  the  frontier  of  Moab 
(v.^^)  and  leads  him  successively  to  Kiriath-husoth  (v.^^),  "the 
field  of  Sophim  on  the  top  of  Pisgah  "  (23^'*),  and  the  top  of 
Pe'or  (23^^).  At  each  place  he  shows  Balaam  the  Israelites 
encamped  below,  and  endeavours  to  get  him  to  curse  them. 
But  on  each  occasion  Balaam  pronounces  a  blessing,  which 
in  every  case  consists  of  a  poem  celebrating  the  prosperity, 
present  or  future,  of  Israel  (237-10-  isb-24  2^^^^).  After  the 
second  blessing,  Balak  bids  Balaam  say  nothing  further  (23^^) ; 
and  after  the  third,  bids  him  go  home  (24II).  Balaam,  how- 
ever, before  going  home  (24^^)  recites  unsolicited  a  fourth 
poem  (241^^"!°),  predicting  the  ultimate  destruction  of  Moab  by 
Israel,  and  a  similar  fate  for  Edom.  Without  any  demur  from 
Balak,  Balaam  further  recites  three  much  shorter  poems,  pre- 
dicting the  fate  of  'Amalek  (v.^o),  the  Kenites  (v.^"-),  Asshur 
and  'Eber  (v.^^). 

Such  Is  a  brief  analysis  of  these  chapters  in  their  present 
form  ;  it  necessarily  leaves  certain  things,  such  as  Balaam's 
country  and  the  reason  of  Yahweh's  anger  with  him  for  setting 
out  on  his  journey,  obscure  or  ambiguous  ;  for  in  these  respects 
the  present  narrative  is  itself  obscure.  This  obscurity  is  not 
lessened  but  enhanced  by  attempting,  as  was  formerly  the 
custom,  to  interpret  this  narrative  by  the  allusions  to  Balaam 
in  31^-  ^^.  To  these  obscurities  earlier  interpreters  devoted  the 
utmost  ingenuity.  But  in  vain.  The  obscurities  have  been 
occasioned  by  the  existence  in  the  OT.  of  widely  different 
stories  about  Balaam.  Two  of  these  have  been  combined  in 
the  present  narrative.  With  the  recognition  of  this,  some  of 
the  difficulties  of  older  interpreters  disappear.  But  not  all. 
It  is  impossible  to  recover  in  detail  and  with  any  certainty  the 
original  forms  of  the  stories  here  combined.  Consequently,  the 
interpretation  of  these  chapters  still  remains  an  incompletely 
solved  problem. 


XXII.  2-xxiv.  25  309 

The  narrative,  as  distinguished  from  the  poems  which  it 
contains,  is  certainly  a  compilation  from  at  least  two  sources. 
This  appears  most  clearly  in  c.  22.  Here  the  most  conspicuous 
evidence  of  compilation  is  as  follows: — (i)  the  doublet  in  22^''^ 
and  ^^  ;  (2)  the  irrelevance  of  v.^''  after  v.^;  (3)  the  incon- 
sistency of  the  two  definitions  of  Balaam's  home  in  v.^,  one 
clause  placing-  it  on  the  Euphrates,  the  other  in  "  the  land  of 
the  children  of  Ammon "  (so  read  with  G) ;  and  (4)  the 
parallelism  and  inconsistency  of  v.^^~^^  with  much  of  what 
precedes.  A  number  of  smaller  points,  such  as  the  different 
terms  used  for  Balak's  messeng-ers,  taken  together,  also 
support  the  conclusion  that  the  narrative  is  composite,  though 
taken  separately  some  of  them  might  be  otherwise  explained 
without  serious  difficulty.  Any  detailed  analysis  must  of 
necessity  largely  rest  on  this  less  conclusive  evidence. 

Quite  the  most  important  of  the  points  mentioned  in  the 
last  paragraph  is  the  inconsistency  of  22—"^^  and  the  preceding 
section.  This  consists  mainly  in  the  fact  that  in  v.~^^-  Balaam, 
having  received  God's  permission  to  go,  is  on  his  loay  accompanied 
by  the  princes  of  Balak,  whereas  in  v. '^'^  Balaam  is  o?i  his  way 
accompa?iied  by  two  servants,  and  without  having  received 
Yahweh's  permission:  for  that  is  the  obvious  meaning  of 
Yahweh's  anger. 

There  is  no  such  conclusive  evidence  that  c.  2'^  f.  is  derived 
from  two  sources.  But  23^^  looks  like  the  original  conclusion 
of  a  narrative;  the  statement  in  24^,  that  Balaam  "went  not, 
as  at  other  times,  to  seek  for  enchantments,"  attaches  to 
nothing  that  precedes ;  24^'-  might  well  imply  that  Balaam 
now,  for  the  first  time,  sees  Israel,  and  for  the  first  time 
realises  Yahweh's  purpose  to  bless  Israel,  in  which  case  it 
could  not  have  been  the  original  sequel  to  c.  23.  The  repeti- 
tion of  23^2-  24  jrj  248-  9^  and  the  postponement  of  Balaam's 
solemn  introduction  of  himself  (24^^-  ^^^■)  to  the  third  and  fourth 
poems,  also  favour  the  conclusion  that  c.  23  and  c.  24  are  not 
the  work  of  a  single  writer. 

Most  writers,*  therefore,  are  now  agreed  that  the  present 
narrative  is  a  compilation  from  the  two  sources  J  and  E. 
•  We.,  Di.,  Kit.,  Driver,  Corn.,  Bacon,  CH.,  Addis,  Moore  {EBi.  3442). 


3IO  NUMBERS 

Kalisch,  Kuenen,  Steuernagel,  and  von  Gall  take  more  or  less  con- 
siderable exception  to  this  conclusion.  Kalisch  argued  that  Nu.  22--24^^ 
apart  from  two  interpolated  passages  (22-""2'  and  24'^"-^),  formed  an  inde- 
pendent book,  dating  from  the  age  of  David,  and  had  no  connection  with 
either  J  or  E.  Kuenen  comes  nearer  to  the  general  position,  but  holds 
that  the  section  as  a  whole  is  derived  from  E,  who  himself  derived  22-'^"^ 
from  J,  and  incorporated  it  with  his  narrative.  Von  Gall  maintains  that 
222-41  231-6- 11-13  ig  compiled  in  the  usual  manner  from  J  and  E,  but  that 
2-5^^-24-^  is  the  work  of  five  successive  editors  all  later  than  JE,  and  that 
all  the  poems,  including  23^'^'*,  are  post-exilic.  Both  the  sources  (J  and  E), 
he  further  argues,  related  one  blessing  only,  and  the  original  compiler 
(JE)  retained  this  feature  of  the  story.  Now,  that  there  is  some  editorial 
work  in  23^^-24-^  is  highly  probable  (see  below  on  24-°'-^ ;  see,  further, 
CH.),  but  some  of  the  features  referred  to  in  the  last  paragraph  but  one 
are  not  well  accounted  for  by  the  theory  that  the  whole  of  this  section  was 
written  by  editors  before  whom  22^-23"  and  231"-  already  lay  in  its  present 
form  :  in  particular,  the  terms  of  24^'-  and  Balaam's  self-introduction  in 
the  third  and  fourth  poems  present  as  much  difficulty  to  this  theory  as  to 
the  theorj'  that  the  chapters  are  a  unity.  Steuernagel's  theory  is  that  the 
whole  section  consists  of  the  work  of  E^  and  additions  by  E'^  which  are 
distinguished   by  the   use   of  the   divine   name  Yahweh,   and   consist  of 

228.  13.  ISf.  22-35   238-  ia^-S-  12-I3a«.  15-17.  26.  27a«    24!-  l'a/3b.  12b.  13  (^TSK.   (1899)  34°  f-  = 

Eimaanderung,  72,  103-105).  This  is  also  open  to  some  of  the  fore- 
going objections,  and  entirely  fails  to  meet  the  difficulty  presented  by 
2,22-35^  and  bases  more  than  is  safe  on  the  use  of  the  divine  names  (see 
below). 

It  is  true,  however,  that  the  characteristics  of  E  are  more 
apparent  than  those  of  J.  But  before  attempting-  to  indicate 
the  positive  indications  of  either  of  these  sources,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  consider,  in  the  first  place,  from  a  purely  textual  point 
of  view,  the  use  of  the  divine  names.  The  divine  names  used 
in  ^?  are:  Yahweh^  29  times;  G<?^  (D^^7X(^)),  9  times,  and  also 
twice  with  a  suffix  ;  God  (p"^),  8  times ;  Shaddai,  twice ;  and 
Elyon,  once.  The  last  three  may  be  dismissed  from  considera- 
tion ;  for  although  both  (5  and  <S  give  God  for  Shaddai, 
there  is  every  probability  that  wherever  these  three  occur, 
'^  represents  the  orig^inal  text  [Shaddai  =6  6eo<i  0  e/io?  in 
Gn.  49-^ ;  El  Shaddai  regularly  becomes  6  6e6<;  fiov,  aov  in 
the  Hexateuch).  In  the  use  of  Yakweh  and  Elohim,  on  the 
other  hand,  "^  does  not  always  preserve  so  early  a  text  as 
Sor  ffi. 

The  variations  of  S  trom  |§  are  as  follows  : — 

S  has      D^^^N  instead  of  the  ni,T  of  Ij  in  23'. 
•1    •*      C'~7}<n  ,,  ,,         ,1       23*  . 


XXII.  2-xxiv.  25  311 

S  has    ni.T  -Kho  instead  of  the  .ti.t  of  lij  in  23'-  ^•. 
„     „  ni,T  „  dm'?x      „        22«». 

„      „    C-h'tN  -i.x'70  „  „  „  22». 

S  has  throughout  ]-»i^  for  .Tin>  and  |Cn_^]  for  D'.-.VN(n),  The  varia- 
tions of  (5  are  as  follows  : — 

(i)  (6)  deos—       mn'  15  times  without  variants  (besides  23*). 

(2)  „  „      3      I.      ^^''tli  .. 

(3)  6  Kifpi05  =  D'rT'7Nn   2      ,,        ,,  ,, 

The  instances  of  (i)  are  2223-23-  "'•  »5  233.  5.  n.  le.  is  ,^i3b      j^  238  6  Oeos^ 

.ii.T,  but  in  the  parallel  line  K?='7n.  The  MSS.  supporting  Ks  in  the  six 
cases  of  (2)  and  (3)  are  as  follows  (cursives  not  cited  when  the  reading  is 
embodied  in  Lagarde) : — (2)  in  22'^  L;  in  22-bj  ^_|,.  -^.  84.  106.  134;  in 
2231,  BL ;  (3)  in  22»,  16.  73  ;  2222^,  FN  53.  71. 

The  fact  that  in  the  great  majority  of  the  cases  S  agrees  with  |^ 
against  ffir's  (6)  6s  would  by  itself  cast  grave  suspicion  on  ffi's  readings ; 
but  there  is  further  evidence  of  <5's  tendency  here  to  use  6  6s ;  thus  it  is 
6  es  that  appears  in  the  interpretation  of  'Sb*  in  23^,  and,  naturally  indeed, 
in  the  addition  at  the  end  of  23^  (cp.  242  p)  and  G). 

It  follows  (i)  that  an  unsupported  reading  b  ds  in  G  is  valueless  as 
evidence  of  the  original  reading ;  (2)  that  such  a  reading  adds  little  or 
nothing  to  other  evidence  favouring  an  original  reading  D'n'7N(n)  ;  but 
(3)  that  wherever  (6)  Ks  appears  in  G,  it  deserves  attention  as  a  possible 
indication  of  the  original  text. 

Thus  on  purely  textual  grounds  (i)  it  is  highly  probable 
that  in  22-^  Yah-weh  (S  and  important  MSS.  of  ffi)  is  an  earlier 
reading  than  God  (f^) ;  (2)  in  23^-  ^^  God  (S)  is  at  least  as 
probably  original  as  Yahweh  (|i?) ;  (3)  in  22^  Vahweh  read  by 
certain  MSS.  of  (&  may  possibly  be  earlier  than  God  (f^).  In 
all  other  cases  f^  probably  presents  a  text  earlier  than  G, 
though  it  is  still,  of  course,  perfectly  possible  that  in  certain 
cases  (!Er  accidentally  reverts  to  the  text  of  the  ancient  source. 
But  that  is  not  a  question  of  textual  criticism. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  tabulate  here  the  usage  oiYahweJi  and  God. 
Yahweh  is  used  (reading  thus  in  22^2*) — 

(a)  in  narrative,  16  times — 2222-35  (13  times)  23"'  ^^  24^  ; 

(b)  in   speeches   of  Balaam,    12  times   (two   doubtful) — 22'-  '^^  ^^-  ^' 

233  (S  God)  «•  12-  21-  26  (s  God)  246-  "  *"  ; 

(c)  in  speeches  of  Balak — 24^^ 
God  (nM'?x(n))  is  used — 

(a)  in  narrative,  6  times — 22^-  ^°'  '^--  ^  23*  242.     In  22'  some  MSS.  of 

Cr  read  Yahweh  ; 
{b)  in  speeches  of  Balaam,  twice  (22^^  232^),  and  twice  besides  in  S 

(233.26). 

No  conclusive  and  complete  explanation  of  this  usage  can  be  givea 


312  NUMBERS 

It  is  partly  due  to  fusion  of  sources  ;  it  is  perhaps  partly  due  to  an 
editorial  principle  incompletely  carried  throug-h.  It  is  to  be  observed 
that  in  22-'-^  Cod  is  consistently  used  in  the  narrative,  Yahiveh  in  the 
speeches  of  Balaam.  It  is  possible  that  God  stood  orig'inally  in  (some  of) 
the  speecnes,  and  has  been  deliberately  altered  by  an  editor  in  order  to 
make  it  clear  that  Balaam  owes  what  he  has  to  say  to  the  God  of  Israel 
(Di.).  The  principle  is  not  carried  through,  for  in  22^^  23-"  the  reading 
God  is,  on  textual  grounds,  beyond  suspicion  ;  for  a  similar  incomplete- 
ness, see  Ct,  particularly  in  22--''"'*^,  where  ^s  takes  the  place  of  mn'  11 
times,  but  Ks  is  allowed  to  stand  in  22''', 

The  consistent  use  of  Yahweh  (13  times)  to  the  entire 
exclusion  of  God  in  22--"^^,  and  the  consistent  use  of  God  in 
the  narrative  parts  of  22^"-^,  favour  referring-  22--"^^  to  J,  and 
the  parts  of  22"^"-^  containing-  Go</ and  inconsistent  with  22--"^^ 
(see  above)  to  E.  The  only  OT.  parallel  to  the  speaking-  ass 
in  22^-~^^  is  the  speaking-  serpent,  and  this  also  appears  in 
J  (Gn.  3) ;  revelation  by  nig-ht  (v.^^ :  cp.  v.^^-  -^-  ^~^^-  ^-^•)  is 
characteristic  of  E  (12^  n.).  Some  slig-ht  indications  of  J's 
style  (as  distinct  from  E's)  will  be  mentioned  in  the  notes  on 
y  29.  31^  and  of  E's  (as  distinct  from  J's)  on  v.^^. 

Further  analysis  must  proceed  from  this  starting-point ;  and  the  more 
remote  it  becomes,  the  more  uncertain  also.  The  following-  suggestioiis 
are  offered  merely  from  this  point  of  view.  In  22^  the  land  of  the  children 
of  'Avtmon  is  from  J,  Pefhor,  which  is  by  the  river  {Euphrates)  from  E  ;  for 
from  'Ammon  Balaam  might  well  be  represented  as  coming  on  an  ass  with 
a  couple  of  servants,  but  the  long-  journey  from  the  Euphrates  would  call 
for  a  larger  retinue,  such  as  that  of  \h&  princes  of  Balak,  who  are  closely 
connected  with  passag-es  referring  to  Balaam's  receipt  of  revelation  by 
night.  In  J,  then,  Balaam  is  an  'Ammonite,  in  E  an  Aramcean  ;  hence  23' 
(from  Aravt  Balak  brought  m.e)  is  E.  Thus  in  this  episode  E  appears  to 
term  the  messengers /■r/wc^'^  (or,  when  God  is  speaking,  men — 22^*  ^*  ^■); 
and  hence  there  falls  to  E  22^*'*  ^^  23®*".  Different  terms  {messengers, 
elders,  servatits  of  Balak — 22^-  ^^  24^^)  may  point  to  the  other  source — J. 

In  the  main  at  least  c.  23  and  c.  24  cohere  respectively.  But  if  this  be 
so,  c.  23  is  mainly  from  E  on  account  oi  Aram  in  23'  and  princes  in  23^"  ^^  : 
note,  further,  God  in  23*  and  in  S  also  in  23^-  '-^,  yet  in  the  present  text 
Yahweh  is  more  frequent.  Cp.,  further,  23^"  with  22^^  (E).  In  c.  24  God 
{crnhn.)  is  used  but  once  (24-),  Yahweh  several  times  ;  24^-  in  virtue  of 
messefigers  connects  with  24^  (J).  Attention  should,  however,  again  be 
drawn  to  the  comparatively  slight  positive  evidence  of  J.  In  particular, 
note  that  24^  more  closely  resembles  Gn.  32^^-  (E)  than  iS^^**  (J). 

Further  analysis  proceeds  from  the  conclusion  that  c.  23  is  E  and  c.  24 
J,  or  turns  on  minuter  points  of  evidence.  22"'-  ^'^  is  J  if  24'^-  ^^  is  ;  22^''-  ^^ 
contains  a  curious  phrase  (pxn  j'V  nx  nos)  found  again  only  in  Ex.  lo^*  " 


XXII.  2-xxiv.  25  313 

jjenerally  assigfned  to  J.  In  22®-  ^^  m^j;  and  '^iN  are  more  characteristic  of 
J  than  E  (CH.  59,  64).  There  is  no  obvious  reason  for  separating^  (with 
CH.)  22^"*  from  clause  b;  note  rather  a  point  of  connection  with  22^  (l':'  K'py 
and  iV  Kip"?).  22^^  as  a  whole  may  then  be  J  and,  consequently,  22'*''  is  £, 
if  Wellhausen's  sugg'estion  (see  on  22^"),  that  in  22^^  Balak  has  come  to 
Balaam's  home,  be  accepted,  for  certainly  in  E  Balaam  g-oes  to  Balak ;  in 
the  original  form  of  the  ass  episode  he  maj/  have  returned  home. 

The  tentative  analysis  thus  reached  may  be  tabulated  thus — 

J  22'  (except  io  Pethor,  7vhich  is  by  the  river)  *•  ''•  ^^*  ^''^-  —-^j^-  37  2^  (in  the 
main  except  v.-*). 

E  22^  ("  to  Pethor,  7L<hich  is  by  the  river")  s-io-  is-"-  is--^^-  ss.  40  23  (in  the 
main),  24^^ 

The  result  agrees  for  the  most  part  with  the  analysis  of  CH.  who, 
however,  carry  the  analysis  further. 

If  C.  23  and  c.  24  are  from  different  sources,  then  these  three  times  in 
24^",  part  at  least  of  the  transition  from  the  one  source  to  the  other  {e.g: 
2327.  29^^  ^jjjj  perhaps  Pe'or  in  23"^,  may  be  regarded  as  editorial  ;  possibly, 
also,  the  peculiar  formula  (cp.  Job  27^  29'),  common  to  both  chapters, 
which  introduces  the  first  four  poems.  On  the  subsequent  interpolation 
of  24(^^^')  -"'^^  see  the  introductory  note  to  these  verses. 

The  date  of  the  narratives  is  the  date  of  the  sources 
(J  and  E)  to  which  they  have  been  traced,  i.e.  the  9th?  or 
8th?  century  B.C.  The  date  of  the  poems  is  not  necessarily 
the  same.  Like  those  in  c.  21  they  may  be  older  than  the 
narrative ;  or  the  two  in  c.  23  may  be  the  work  of  E,  the  two 
in  c.  24  of  J  ;  or  they  may  be  either  ancient  or  more  recent 
poems  subsequently  inserted  in  the  completed  narrative  by 
an  editor  in  place  of  Balaam's  original  words.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  poems  must  be  briefly  considered  by  them- 
selves. 

In  the  first  place,  the  poems  were  obviously  written  to  fit 
into  a  story  of  Balaam  :  see  23'^'-  ^^-  ^o  24^-  ^^ ;  though  it  is  only 
in  the  first  two  that  a  close  structural  connection  with  a  story 
of  Balaam  is  found.  It  is  quite  possible  that  24^^^^^-  i^bCie)  ^j.^ 
merely  introductions  attached  to  poems  that  originally  had  no 
connection  with  such  a  story. 

The  strongest  point  in  favour  of  the  antiquity  of  the 
poems,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  present  writer,  it  is  very 
strong,  is  the  feeling  of  national  confidence,  success,  pro- 
sperity, and  contentment  which  pervades  them,  and  in  virtue 
of  which  they  are  most  closely  connected  with  the  ancient 
poems  known  as  "the  blessing  of  Jacob"  (Gn.  49)  and  "  the 


314  NUMBERS 

blessing  of  Moses  "  (Dt.  33).  If  the  allusion  to  Agag-  in  24' 
could  be  relied  on,  the  third  poem  would  belong  to  the  age  of 
Saul;  but  it  cannot.  If  it  were  certain,  which  it  is  not,  that 
2^isf.  -vvere  an  original  part  of  the  fourth  poem,  the  only  actual 
king  satisfying  the  reference  would  be  David,  who  alone 
conquered  botla  Edom  and  Moab.  If  the  poems  be  post- 
exilic  the  only  mode  of  accounting  for  the  tone  would  be 
to  regard  them  as  depicting  the  Messianic  age ;  and  this  is 
the  view  of  those  who  argue  for  a  post-exilic  origin.  But, 
especially  in  the  case  of  the  third  poem,  it  seems  to  the  present 
writer  singularly  improbable.  If  pre-exilic,  the  poems  which 
contemplate  in  Israel  and  Jacob  something  more  than  Judah 
must  have  been  composed  before  the  fall  of  the  northern 
kingdom  in  B.C.  722,  if  not  also  before  the  disruption  of  the 
kingdoms.  On  the  other  hand,  24'^-  ^"^  (though  probably  not 
23^^,  see  note  there)  presuppose  the  monarchy :  a  date  earlier 
than  Saul  is  therefore  out  of  the  question,  a  date  earlier  than 
David  improbable.  The  poems  in  their  present  state  contain 
some  interpolation  (see  on  23^^),  and  the  second  and  third 
common  matter.  The  reappearance  of  24^'^'-^  in  Jer.  48^^  is 
inconclusive  ;  for  there  is  the  difficulty,  common  in  the  case 
of  parallel  passages,  of  determining  which  is  the  original. 

Until  recently  the  antiquity  of  the  first  four  poems  was  not  questioned. 
Diehl  {Erklarun^  von  Ps.  ^j  (1894),  S-io)  drew  attention  to  certain 
linguistic  and  other  features  common  to  the  poems  and  later  literature. 
CH.  (n.  on  23^'')  just  raise  the  question  whether  the  poems  may  "belong 
...  to  the  reproductive  style  of  after  times "  ;  and  recently  von  Gall 
has  argued  at  length  in  favour  of  a  Messianic  interpretation  throughout 
and  of  a  post-exilic  date  of  all  the  poems.  Some  of  his  arguments  are 
criticised,  or  in  some  cases,  when  they  turn  on  interpretation,  tacitly 
met  in  the  commentary  ;  but  see,  in  particular,  notes  on  t.'^-  ^*.  Many  of 
the  instances  cited  by  him  as  late  usages  have  slight  weight,  or  rest  on 
insufficiently  established  results  as  to  the  late  date  of  many  of  the  passages 
in  which  the  words  or  phrases  in  question  occur  elsewhere.  Some  in 
themselves  are  of  some  weight,  such  as  ni37D  (instead  of  nD7Da)  and  p''?i; ; 
and  it  becomes  a  question  then  whether  they  suffice  to  outweigh  the 
evidence  indicated  above  for  an  early  origin  of  at  least  the  main  part  of 
the  poems. 

Bela',  son  of  Be'or,  is  the  name  of  the  first  of  the  kings  of 
Edom  of  whom  a  list  is  given  in  Gn.  36^^"^^.      His  city  was 


XXII.  2-XXIV.  25  315 

Dinhabah,  and  he  reigned  some  considerable  time  before 
the  estabhshment  of  the  monarchy  in  Israel.  There  is  no 
reason  to  question  the  historical  accuracy  of  these  state- 
ments. 

Virtually,  if  not  exactly,  identical  with  the  name  of  this 
Edomite  king-  is  that  of  Balaam  the  son  of  Be'or,  who,  though 
not  an  Israelite,  received  communications  from  Yahweh,  and 
was  specially  and  widely  distinguished  for  his  power  of 
cursing  and  blessing.  Balaam  played  this  part  in  Hebrew 
traditions  at  least  as  early  as  the  9th  century  B.C.  (J).  The 
connection  between  the  historical  king  of  Edom  of  say  the 
12th  or  nth  century  and  this  traditional  figure  of  the  gth 
century  can  be  only  a  matter  of  speculation.  The  tradition 
already  had  a  history  (which  cannot,  indeed,  be  traced)  as 
early  as  the  8th?  century:  for  Balaam  has  by  then  already 
become  in  one  form  of  the  tradition  an  Aramaean  (E)  whose 
home  was  in  the  region  of  the  Euphrates,  in  another  (if  the 
view  taken  of  22^,  pp.  312,  326,  be  correct)  an  'Ammonite  (J), 
possibly  in  a  third  a  Midianite,  for  this  last  description  may 
be  much  earlier  than  the  first  direct  literary  reference  to 
it(Nu.  3I8-16F). 

This  traditional  figure  is  one  of  the  chief  elements  in  the 
episode  of  Nu.  22-24.  ^^  even  more  important  element,  the 
fear  and  hostility  felt  by  Moab  for  Israel,  not  improbably  has 
some  foundation  in  history.  But  in  the  main  the  episode  is 
a  creation  of  the  Hebrew  national  spirit  in  the  days  of 
national  prosperity,  and  self-confidence  sprung  from  reliance 
on  the  national  God,  Yahweh.  It  may,  indeed,  contain  other 
historical  features  ;  such  as  the  name  of  Balak,  who  may  have 
been  an  actual  king  of  Moab  ;  but  no  means  at  present  exist 
for  distinguishing  any  further  between  the  historical  or 
legendary  elements  and  those  which  are  supplied  by  the 
creative  faculty  and  the  religious  feeling  of  the  writers. 

The  motive  of  the  story  and  its  religious  presuppositions 
are  in  this  case  the  points  which  it  is  most  important  to 
determine.  The  motive  is  perfectly  clear,  though  it  has 
generally  been  obscured,  or  at  least  cast  into  the  shade,  by 
undue  prominence  given  to  what  is  not  a  matter  of  leading 


3l6  NUMBERS 

interest  with  the  writer,  viz.  the  character  ot  Balaam  Balak, 
except  in  so  far  as  he  represents  Moab,  and  Balaam  are  in 
reality  subordinate  figures  in  the  story ;  the  protagonists  are 
Israel  and  Moab ;  the  overruling  thought  is  Yahweh's  power 
to  defend  His  people  and  His  purposes  of  good  concerning 
them ;  and  the  fatal  madness  of  those  who,  through  them, 
oppose  Him.  As  at  the  outset,  when  Yahweh  determined 
to  bring  His  people  to  the  land  of  promise,  Pharaoh,  and 
through  him  Egypt,  opposed  Israel  to  their  own  undoing, 
so  at  the  close,  as  Israel  is  on  the  point  of  entering  on  its 
inheritance  from  Yahweh,  Moab  attempts,  with  like  hard- 
ness of  heart,  a  similar  opposition,  and  suffers  a  similar  fate. 
This  motive  was  clearly  felt  by  a  prophet  of  the  7th  century ; 
the  outstanding  proofs  to  him  of  Yahweh's  care  for  His 
people  are  summed  up  in  Yahweh's  appeal  to  Israel,  "I 
brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ;  and  from  the 
house  of  slaves  I  redeemed  thee,  and  sent  before  thee  Moses, 
Aaron,  and  Miriam.  O  my  people !  remember  now  what 
Balak,  king  of  Moab,  devised,  and  wherewith  Balaam,  the 
son  of  Be'or,  answered  him  .  .  .  that  thou  mayest  recognise 
the  proofs  of  Yahweh's  faithfulness  (nin"'  niPiy)  "  (Mic.  6*^-). 

The  same  motive  governs  the  two  different  stories  which 
have  been  brought  together  by  the  editor  (JE) ;  and  it  was 
carefully  preserved  in  the  story  as  it  left  his  hands.  Drawing 
on  both  sources  (J  and  E),  the  editor  is  indifferent  to  incon- 
gruities, produced  by  his  method,  which  strike  the  modern 
reader ;  but  he  is  careful  so  to  combine  his  material  as  to  give 
fuller  effect  to  the  leading  motive.  Not  once  nor  twice  only, 
but  thrice  in  this  final  form  of  the  story  does  Balak  persist 
in  his  attempt  to  get  Israel  cursed ;  and  at  each  attempt  his 
own  doom  approaches  nearer :  for,  as  the  editor  has  arranged 
them,  the  poems  rise  to  a  climax.  In  the  first  Balaam  speaks 
of  Israel's  freedom  from  Yahweh's  curse,  of  its  security  from 
its  foes,  and  of  its  countless  numbers ;  in  the  second,  of 
Yahweh's  irrevocable  promise  and  unalterable  determination 
positively  to  bless  Israel,  of  Yahweh's  presence  in  Israel's 
midst,  and  briefly  of  Israel's  conquests ;  in  the  third  of  the 
fertility  of  Israel's  land,  of  the  celebrity  of  their  king,  of  the 


XXII.  2-XXIV.  25  317 

national  prowess,  and  of  the  utter  destruction  of  all  who 
oppose  them.  In  the  fourth  unsolicited  poem  the  climax  is 
reached ;  Moab  itself  is  singled  out  by  name  as  about  to 
perish  before  Israel ;  and  on  this  note  the  episode  in  JE 
closed :  all  that  followed  it  was  the  simple  statement  that 
Balaam  and  Balak  went  their  respective  ways.  One  point 
in  the  earlier  part  the  editor  may  have  suppressed,  viz.  the 
personal  visit  of  Balak  to  Balaam,  if  this  once  formed  part 
of  J's  story  (22^^  n.).  But  he  retains  with  all  clearness  the 
corresponding  development  of  the  main  motive  in  E  ;  in  the 
earlier  as  in  the  latter  part  of  the  story  Balak,  like  Pharaoh 
in  the  story  of  the  plagues,  blinded  and  rendered  fatuous  by 
his  enmity  to  Israel,  increasingly  provokes,  to  the  frustration 
of  his  plans  and  his  people's  undoing,  the  anger  of  Yahweh. 
Had  he  rested  content  with  Balaam's  first  refusal,  he  would 
merely  have  lost  the  assistance  he  hoped  to  derive  from  a 
powerful  curse;  he  sends  again,  and  Balaam  comes  to  bless, 
and  so  to  range  against  him  the  very  forces  with  which  he 
wished  to  be  allied. 

Of  the  religious  presuppositions  of  the  story  the  most 
striking  is  the  recognition  of  Yahweh's  revelation  of  His 
purposes  concerning  Israel  to  one  who  was  not  an  Israelite ; 
and  of  the  familiar  intercourse  of  this  foreign  seer  with  the 
God  of  Israel.  In  one  place  (22^^)  Balaam  indeed  speaks  of 
"Yahweh,  my  God,"  just  as  an  Israelite  did  (e._^.  Jos.  14^, 
I  K.  3").  It  is  indeed  possible,  as  was  pointed  out  above 
(p.  312),  that  one  of  the  stories  in  its  original  form  used 
throughout  the  term  God.  Even  so,  the  Hebrew  writer  can 
only  be  thinking  of  the  God  who  was  God  of  Israel.  In  either 
case,  to  the  writer's  mind,  the  God  of  Israel  reveals  Himself 
outside  the  limits  of  the  chosen  people;  we  have  here,  there- 
fore, an  approximation  to  the  idea  of  God  which  is  found  in 
Amos  and  other  prophets  of  the  8th  century.  Whence  this 
idea  came  cannot  be  determined ;  it  is  not  clear  that  it  is 
due  to  a  knowledge  on  the  writer's  part  of  the  fact,  for 
which  there  is  some  evidence,  that  the  divine  name  Yahweh 
was  known  outside  of  Israel,  or  had,  in  the  first  instance,  been 
obtained  by   the   Hebrews  from   without.      There   are   some 


3l8  NUMBERS 

partial  parallels  for  the  writer's  point  of  view ;  J  makes  all 
men  at  the  beginning'  call  on  the  name  of  Yahweh  (Gn.  4""^) ; 
in  E  (Gn.  20)  God  reveals  Himself  by  night  to  Abimelech, 
king  of  Gerar,  a  place  where  a  Hebrew  would  naturally  have 
expected  that  the  worship  of  God  would  be  unknown  (Gn. 
20^^) ;  in  the  same  source  God  reveals  Himself  in  a  similar 
manner  to  Laban  the  Aramaean  (Gn.  31^'^). 

There  are  perhaps  in  the  two  stories  two  different  points 
of  view  as  to  the  manner  in  which  Balaam  received  or  obtained 
communications  from  God.  In  E,  certainly,  Balaam  resembles 
the  conspicuously  true  Hebrew  prophet  Michaiah  the  son  of 
Imlah  (i  K  22) ;  each  alike  waits  for  God  to  speak,  and  each 
alike  repeats  what  Yahweh  says,  whether  it  be  pleasant  or 
unpleasant  to  the  person  affected.  In  J  Balaam's  custom  was 
to  obtain  oracles  (24^ :  cp.  22'^),  by  observation  of  omens  or 
casting  of  lots  if  we  are  to  press  the  probable  implication  of 
the  terms  employed  ;  but  he  delivers  his  messages  to  Balak 
overmastered,  like  a  Hebrew  chosen  of  Yahweh  for  any 
special  task,  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  In  J,  too,  Balaam  proves 
incorruptible  by  Balak's  proffered  gifts. 

The  motive  of  the  story  is  clear;  but  the  subsidiary 
religious  beliefs  of  the  writer  beyond  a  certain  point  become 
obscure.  Yet  more  is  obscure  when  we  pass  on  to  ask  what 
was  the  writer's  estimate  of  the  character  of  Balaam.  The 
truth  is,  this  question  can  easily  be,  and  has  generally  been, 
pressed  too  far.  The  writer  himself  is,  comparatively  speak- 
ing, indifferent  to  it.  It  is  hardly  overstating  the  case  to 
say  that  Balaam  is  an  accident,  and  is  not  of  the  essence  of 
the  story.  He  is  the  instrument  by  which  the  proud  opponent 
of  Israel  and  Yahweh  is  led  on  to  his  destruction.  But  if 
the  question  of  Balaam's  character  be  raised,  the  outstanding 
fact  to  be  kept  in  view  is  that  nothing  suffices  to  seduce 
him  from  carrying  out  the  will  of  Yahweh.  Balak  may 
think,  it  may  be  the  intention  of  the  writer  to  express  this 
in  passing,  that  Balaam  is  open  to  a  sufficient  appeal  to  his 
avarice.  But  if  so,  the  event  proves  him  wrong.  It  may  be 
said  that  Balaam  does  all  that  he  does  under  divine  com- 
pulsion ;  this,  however,  is  only  in  another  way  to  neutralise 


XXII.  2-xxiv.  25  319 

the  character  of  the  prophet.  But  if  it  be  further  said  that 
he  does  everything-  innmllingly,  that  he  would  if  he  could 
have  satisfied  his  avarice,  this  is  simply  to  import  into  the 
story  what  is  not  there. 

The  position  taken  up  in  tlie  last  paragraph  is  entirely 
at  variance  with  the  interpretation  that  till  comparatively 
recent  times  entirely  held  the  field.  It  was  criticised  in 
great  detail  by  Kalisch,  who,  through  a  not  unnatural  re- 
action, laboured  to  prove  Balaam  as  admirable  as  to  previous 
writers  he  had  been  a  detestable  character.  The  older  in- 
terpretation of  necessity  depended  on  ingenious  and  forced 
explanations  of  details  which  were  fully  exposed  by  Kalisch  ; 
it  was  justified  on  one  assumption  and  one  assumption  alone, 
viz.,  that  all  the  details  mentioned  in  all  the  references  are 
actual  and  true  descriptions  of  one  and  the  same  real  life ; 
if  Balaam's  last  act  was  to  counsel  Balak  to  seduce  the 
Hebrews  to  the  worship  of  his  god  by  means  of  the  sensuous 
attractions  of  the  Moabite  women  {31^°),  then  he  was  indeed 
a  hypocrite,  and  the  most  natural  explanation  of  his  conduct 
is  avarice.  Bishop  Butler's  sermon,  which  represents  the 
high-water  mark  of  this  mode  of  interpretation,  is  then  not 
only  a  characteristic  and  masterly  study  in  an  unquestionably 
real  type  of  human  character,  but  a  faithful  delineation  of 
Balaam's  character  in  particular.  But  the  assumption  is  no 
longer  justified.  The  story  of  c.  22-24  is  complete  in  itself; 
the  allusion  in  31'^  first  appears  centuries  later,  and  (see  p. 
320)  is  of  doubtful  historicity.  Hence  it  is  illegitimate  to 
allow  it  to  dominate  the  interpretation  of  c.  22-24. 

Though  in  the  main  they  have  broken  free  from  the  older  interpretation 
toajuster  estimate  of  Balaam's  character,  Di.  (138:  cp.  140)  and  Bacon 
(p.  221)  are  still  so  far  under  its  influence  that  they  attribute  to  the  Balaam 
of  J  a  certain  g-reed  or  avarice  which  they  make  no  attempt  to  prove. 
That  the  final  editor  of  the  Hexatcuch  thought  out  a  consistent  character 
for  Balaam  before  he  admitted  both  representations  to  a  place  in  the  same 
work  *  (though  by  no  means  to  stand  side  by  side)  is  incapable  of  proof; 
as  to  its  probability,  each  reader  can  judge  for  himself. 

With  Balaam's  departure  for  his  home  (24^5)  the  story, 
whose  motive  is  as  described  above,  is  complete.     The  sub- 
*  Cp.  "Balaam,"  by  W.  Lock,  \n  Journal  of  Theol.  Studies,  ii.  163. 


320  NUMBERS 

sequent  fortunes  of  the  seer  were  irrelevant  to  It.  But  the 
curiosity  out  of  which  the  Hagg-adic  Midrash  on  the  Old 
Testament  sprang  wanted  to  know  more  both  of  his  fate 
and  of  his  character  and  personaUty :  and  after  its  wont  it 
created  what  it  wanted,  till  in  the  course  of  time  it  gave 
Philo  material  for  his  lengthy  and  spirited  description.  In 
particular,  the  exclusive  spirit  of  a  later  age  could  not 
tolerate  the  appearance  of  a  true  prophet  of  God  among  the 
heathen :  it  consequently  took  care  to  represent  him  in  an 
unfavourable  light.  Such  is  the  general  tendency,  though 
even  later  there  are  rare  exceptions  to  it.  The  later  refer- 
ences in  the  OT.  prove  that  this  depreciatory  Haggadah 
developed  early ;  and  much  of  which  there  is  only  later 
evidence  may  be  considerably  earlier  in  origin. 

Apart  from  a  reference  in  a  subsequent  passage  of  E 
(Jos.  24^'),  on  which  see  below,  the  earliest  OT.  reference 
(Mic.  6^*-)  to  Balaam  is  that  already  cited  (p.  316);  this, 
most  naturally  interpreted,  regards  Balaam  favourably  ;  as 
God  frustrated  the  evil  purposes  of  Egypt  by  means  of  Moses, 
Aaron,  and  Miriam,  so  He  frustrated  those  of  Moab  by  means 
of  Balaam.  But  in  the  next  reference,  though  it  belongs 
only  to  the  end  of  the  same  (the  7th)  century,  Balaam  already 
appears  in  a  more  sinister  light ;  by  the  end  of  the  7th  century 
it  had  become  impossible  for  a  prophet  who  received  pay  to 
retain  the  same  esteem  which  a  Samuel  or  Ahijah,  though 
they  took  fees,  enjoyed;  the  Deuteronomist  (Dt.  23^^- '^^^•^)  is, 
therefore,  depreciating  Balaam  when  he  expressly  states 
what  the  story  of  Nu.  22-24  iTierely  implies  (for  in  the  age 
of  that  story  it  was  a  prevalent  custom)  that  Balaam  received 
fees ;  he  also  attributes  to  him  a  desire  to  curse  which 
Yahweh  would  not  gratify.  Neh.  13^  is  merely  an  echo  of 
this,  and  a  similar  echo  is  probably  to  be  found  in  Jos.  24^^, 
where  what  seems  to  be  the  original  reading  preserved  in  C5 
{hut  Yahweh  would  not  destroy  thee)  has  been  replaced  in  P? 
by  but  I  would  not  hearken  unto  Balaam.  The  latest  OT. 
references  are  found  in  P,  but  belong  to  P*  rather  than  P^ ;  in 
these  Balaam  is  the  "oracle-monger"  (DDp) — in  so  late  a 
writer  there  is  no  question  that  the  term  is  one  of  the  utmost 


XXII.  2-xxiv.  2S  321 

reproach  ;  it  Is  he  who  counsels  the  employment  of  the 
Moabite  women  to  seduce  the  Hebrews  (cp.  2  Pet.  2^^"^^,  Rev. 
2^*),  and  he  who  fills  up  what  was  felt  to  be  lacking  in  the 
earlier  story  by  recording  that  Balaam  died  in  battle  in  the 
war  of  Israel  against  Midian  (31^-  ^^,  Jos.  13--). 

The  earliest  writers  in  which  the  charge  of  avarice  is 
explicitly  made  appear  to  be  Philo  {De  Vit.  Mos.  i.  48  (Mangey, 
123))  and  2  Pet.  2'^^-  (cp.  Jude  ^^).  It  is  less  vigorously 
charged  against  Balaam  by  Josephus  [A7it.  iv.  6),  though  in 
other  respects  he  presents  him  in  nearly  as  unfavourable  light 
as  Philo. 

The  favourable  judgments  on  Balaam  in  later  writers  are 
few;  but  some  of  them  are  emphatic.  Thus  commenting  on 
Dt.  34^*^  [There  hath  not  arisen  in  Israel  a  prophet),  Siphre 
(ed.  Friedmann,  150a)  adds,  "but  among  the  heathen  there 
has,  viz.  Balaam,"  and  then  points  out  various  points  in 
which  Balaam  was  even  superior  to  Moses  as,  e.g..^  in  receiv- 
ing his  revelations  lying  down,  whereas  Moses  received  them 
standing  up ;  see,  further,  Kallsch,  p.  27  f. 

Of  the  details  of  the  Haggadic  elaboration  the  following 
are  among  the  more  interesting  or  important :  Balaam  was 
lame  or  blind  of  one  eye  (deduced  from  the  sing,  py  in  24^^) ; 
he  died  as  a  bloody  and  deceitful  man  at  the  age  of  thirty-three 
or  thirty-four,  i.e.  before  he  was  half  seventy  (cp.  Ps.  55^^:  so 
Sanh.  1065) ;  and,  like  Doeg,  Ahithophel,  and  Gehazi,  he  had 
no  part  in  the  world  to  come,  while  the  lot  of  his  disciples 
also,  who  are  the  exact  opposites  of  the  disciples  of  Abraham, 
is  Gehenna  (Sanh.  10^,  Abhoth  519(29)^.  The  two  who  accom- 
panied Balaam  on  his  journey  (22-^)  were  Jannes  and  Jambres, 
who  had  counselled  Pharaoh  to  destroy  the  Hebrew  male 
children  and  rivalled  Aaron  before  the  Egyptian  king  (CE  ^°" 
on  Nu.  2222,  Ex.  1^5  yii). 

Balaam  is,  moreover,  identified  with  various  persons  who  had  opposed 
Israel,  such  as  Laban  (lE^J""  on  Nu.  22',  Sanh.  1056),  an  identification 
which  has,  in  a  sense,  been  revived  by  Steuernagel  {Ein-waJiderung,  104  f.). 
There  is  far  more  spirit  about  Philo's  {De  Vit.  Mos.  i.  4S-55  ;  Mangey, 
122-128)  description,  but  it  is  too  long  to  quote  or  summarise  :  Josephu? 
{Ant.  iv.  6)  is  less  interesting.  See,  further,  Kalisch,  22-32  ;  and  Jewish 
Encyclopa'dia,  ii.  467-460  :  for  references  U)  oatristic  and  later  Christian 


32  2  NUMBERS 

estimates  of  Balaam's  character,  which  are  always  more  or  less  unfavour. 
able,  and  differ  mainly  on  the  point  whether  he  was  a  mere  heathen 
magician  or  actually  received  revelation  from  God,  see  Reinkc,  221  fF.  ; 
and,  for  some  modem  English  estimates,  Locke  in  Journ.  Theol.  Stzidies, 
ii.  161-163.  On  account  of  the  supposed  similarity  in  the  meaning  of  the 
names,  Balaam  has  been  connected  with  the  Nikolaitans  (Rev.  2**-  ^^)  and 
the  Arabic  fabulist  Lokman  :  for  literature  on  both  points,  see  Kalisch, 
23  and  53  ff.;  Mohammedan  scholars,  though  not  unanimously,  explain 
Kor.  7"^''  as  a  reference  to  Balaam  (see,  e.g.,  Beidawi  thereon). 

XXII.  2-4.  Moab's  fear  of  Israel. — Moab'sfear  is  occasioned 
by  the  success  of  the  Israelites  over  the  Amorites  (see,  how- 
ever, also  v.*  n.),  and  their  occupation  of  the  Amorite  country 
^2i2i-24  j7^  Qj.  2i25  J).  This  feature  in  the  story  may  reflect 
actual  historical  circumstances.  It  is  in  no  u^ay  improbable. 
Even  though  Moab  may,  in  the  first  instance,  have  actually 
called  in  Israel  to  attack  their  troublesome  neighbours,  or, 
at  least,  have  maintained  a  friendly  neutrality  during-  that 
attack,  their  feelings  may  well  have  changed  now  that  they 
found  the  Hebrew  tribes  settled  on  their  borders,  fresh  from 
war  and  hungry  for  land. — Btilak  the  son  of  Sipp6r\  king  of 
Moab  (v.'*-  ^*').  The  first  name  is  from  a  root  which  in 
Hebrew  means  to  lay  waste,  and  may  therefore  signify  the 
devastator.  The  second  is  identical  with  the  Hebrew  and 
Phoenician  [CIS.  165^^^-^^)  term  which  denotes  a  small  bird  oi 
the  sparrow  type,  but  is  scarcely  confined  in  usage  to  a  single 
species.  Sipporah,  the  fern,  form  of  Sippor,  is  the  name  of 
Moses*  Midianite  wife,  and  occurs  in  the  form  NlSX  in 
Palmyrene  inscriptions  (de  Vogiid,  11  —  lAdzba-rski,  N'ordsem. 
Inschriften,  p.  458,  No.  32).  The  attempts  to  give  these  and 
the  names  In  v.^  an  allegorical  significance  are  unsuccessful ; 
these  names  are  no  doubt  traditional.  See,  further,  phil.  n. 
Nothing  is  recorded  of  Balak  independently  of  what  is  told  of 
him  in  the  present  connection ;  but  he  is  once  mentioned 
without  Balaam  (Jud.  11^). — To  the  Amorites]  the  Hebrew 
collective  term  refers  to  Sihon  and  his  people  {21-^- '^^'^^^•), 
but  does  not  include  'Og  and  his  people,  mentioned,  but  not 
termed  Amorites,  in  21^'^  ( =  Dt.  3^"^).  All  the  passages  in 
the  Hexateuch  which  speak  of  'Og  as  king  of  the  Amorites 
appear  to  be  later  than  the  main  Deuteronomic  history;  see 


xxri.  2-4  323 

Dt.  33  447  3 J 4^  Jos.  2^0  910  2412.  _  3.  Moab's  fear  of  Israel 
is  stated  in  two  materially  identical  clauses ;  a  similar 
tautology,  probably  due  to  the  same  cause,  viz.  fusion  of 
sources,  occurs  in  Gn.  21^.  The  repetition  of  the  subject 
Moab,  and  the  expression  of  the  object  in  the  second  clause 
by  a  fresh  term  children  of  Israel  instead  of  by  a  simple  pro- 
noun referring-  to  the  people  [i^  n.  20^  n.),  also,  point  to  the 
fact  that  the  verse  combines  the  similar  statements  of  two 
sources.  The  verb  in  clause  a  (llJ)  occurs  elsewhere  in  the 
Hexateuch  in  Dt.  i"  18-2  32^7;  cp.  also,  e.g.y  i  S.  18^^;  the 
verb  (}"ip)  in  clause  b  is  stronger,  the  fundamental  meaning 
hoAng  to  feel  loaihing- for',  the  nearest  parallels  to  its  present 
use  are  Ex.  i^^^  Is.  7^^  (and  the  Hiphil,  if  the  text  be  right,  in 
Is.  7^) ;  the  original  sense  is  clearer  in  Gn.  27^^,  Lev.  20'-^,  Nu. 
2  1^,  I  K.  1 1^5,  Pr.  3^^t. — 4.  Moab,  very  largely  a  pastoral 
people  (2  K.  3"*),  fears  that  the  Israelite  hordes  will  devour 
all  the  pasturage  around  them.  The  occasion  for  the  follow- 
ing episode,  and  the  cause  of  Moab's  fear  here  assigned,  are 
perhaps  not  the  same  as  in  v.^  It  is  the  mere  approach, 
rather  than  (as  in  v.^)  the  conquests,  of  the  Israelites. — The 
elders  of  Midiaji]  these  are  again  mentioned  in  v.'^,  there  in 
combination  with  the  elders  of  Moab.  But  the  narrative  takes 
no  further  account  of  them ;  Balaam's  dealings  are  with  the 
Moabites  only;  the  Midianites  are  not  mentioned,  even  where 
they  might  be  expected,  and  where  Josephus,  indeed,  found 
it  necessary  to  insert  them;  see,  e.g..,  in  E  23*^-1'^  [princes  of 
Moab  only)  and  in  J  2410-1*  (ct.  Jos.  Ant.  iv.  6'^f-) ;  of  the  fate 
of  Midian,  Balaam  has  nothing  to  say.  Some,*  therefore, 
attribute  these  references  to  the  Midianites  to  a  redactor  who 
thus  attempted  to  connect  the  present  story  with  extraneous 
notices  which  connect  Balaam  with  Midian  (31^-1'^,  Jos.  13^1^-). 
Others  f  think  that  they  are  derived  from  J,  whose  story, 
fragmentarily  preserved,  was  introduced  by  an  explanation  that 
Moab  and  Midian  were  neighbours,  and  made  common  cause 
against  Israel.  The  latter  view  still  leaves  the  omission  of  any 
reference  to  Midian  in  c.  24  unexplained.  The  association  of 
Midianites  and  Moabites  need  in  itself  occasion  no  difficulty; 
♦  Kue.,  We.  t  Di.,  Bacon. 


324  NUMBERS 

for  see  Gn.  36^^,  and  cp.  n.  on  10^". — And  Balak  b.  Sippor  was 
king-  of  Moab  at  that  tt?ne]  This  remark  comes  in  somewhat 
late  after  Balak  has  been  already  referred  to  in  v.^  without 
explanation.  Harmonists  *  argue  that  in  v.^  Moses  had 
only  his  contemporaries  in  mind  who  needed  no  explanation, 
but  that  by  the  time  he  reached  v.*  remembering'  that  he  was 
writing  for  posterity  also,  he  added  this  note  f  for  their  benefit. 

5.  i::ny]  pi.  before  coll.  hnp,  as,  e.g.,  Lev.  4";  G.-K.  1455c;  S  (cp.  (5) 
-nh\  sing,  with  coll.  hnp,  as,  e.g:,  Gn.  35^1 ;  G.-K.  145/— '?.^p.^]  S  G  S  ¥  + 
-M,  which  is  necessary  in  the  mouth  of  a  non-Israelite  speaking-  of  Israel, 
and  therefore  evidently  original.  It  was  passed  over  by  an  inattentive 
copyist,  familiar  with  P's  common  custom  of  using  hnpn  absolutely  of 
Israel:  see,  e.g.,  id'  16^-. — 'n':'::]  The  vb.  in"?  occurs  6  times  in  OT.  ; 
but  in  no  case  does  the  consonantal  text  happen  to  distinguish  the  con- 
jugation. MT.  here  points  as  Kal ;  in  the  remaining  five  cases  as  Piel. 
In  Aram,  and  Arabic  the  simple  conjugation  is  used,  with  the  sense  io 
lick  tip. — :x-c'?  -^d]  cp.  Jos.  12'^'',  2  K.  19^*;  Kon.  iii.  280W. 

5-14.  The  fortune  of  the  first  embassy  sent  by  Balak  to 
Balaam. — V.^^-  (mainly  J)  Balak  sends  messengers  to  the 
country  of  the  'Ammonites — or  to  Pethor  on  the  Euphrates 
(E) — to  summon  Balaam  b.  Be'or  to  curse  the  people  which, 
having  come  out  of  Egypt,  is  now  settled  opposite  Moab. 
With  the  help  of  Balaam's  curse  Balak  hopes  to  bring  the 
war  against  the  Israelites,  which  he  contemplates,  to  a 
successful  issue. 

And  he  [i.e.  Balak)  sent  messengers^  cp.  24'^-  (J) ;  ct.  princes, 
y_s.  13. 21  g^Q_  {^)',  see  above,  p.  312. — Balaam  b.  Be'or\  the 
resemblance  to  Bela'  (yb^)  b.  Be'or,  king  of  Edom  (Gn.  36^^), 
is  remarkable,  and  scarcely  accidental.  In  ^  Balaam  {CiV?2) 
differs  from  Bela'  merely  by  the  presence  in  the  former  of  the 
aflformative  -arn.  Bela'  occurs  as  the  name  of  two  other  persons 
(26^^,  I  Ch.  5^) ;  but  the  name  Be'or  is  otherwise  unknown. 
If  the  textual  tradition  in  Genesis  be  correct,  or  if  Balaam  be 
there  read  with  Ball  (SBOT.)  for  Bela ,  the  ultimate  identity 
of  Bela'  king  of  Edom  and  Balaam  is  highly  probable.  ^     The 

*  JS.g.  Hengst. 

t  Kalisch  (p.  88  f.)  criticises  this  and  similar  explanations  at  length. 
t  So,  e.g.,  Xold.    Untersuchungeii,  87  n.    i;    Hommel,    Alt  Israeli  tiscJie 
Ueherliefcrung,  154,  222. 


XXII.  5  325 

meaning  of  Balaam  Is  ambiguous  ;  for  it  would  be  possible  to 
treat  it  as  a  compound  of  73  =  Bel  and  DJ?  =  kinsman  (or 
'Ammu  :  see  i"-  ^'^  n.,  and  cp.  HPN.  43,  63,  123).  The  meaning 
of  the  root  V>1  is  to  swallow  down  :  hence  the  identification  of 
Balaam  and  Lokman  (^jj  =  deglutivit).  The  interpretation, 
swallower  or  destroyer  of  the  people  (dJ?  I/v3),  already  appears 
in  JJEJ"".  It  is  entirely  unphilological,  but  has  possibly  caused, 
if  it  be  not  in  part  due  to,  the  late  pronunciation  Birum 
(MT.);  (&  (EV.)  keeps  what  was  probably  the  original 
pronunciation  Bafam.  On  this  and  other  interpretations 
of  the  kind  both  of  Balaam  and  Be'or,  see  Kalisch,  go-96. 
— Pethor^  which  is  by  the  river]  i.e.  the  river  Euphrates: 
cp.  Ex.  23^^  Jos.  24^-3-i*f-  (all  E).  The  identification  of 
Pethor  with  Pitru,  which  is  mentioned  by  Shalmaneser  11. 
(860-825  B.C.),  and  with  ^^-<^-r«/,  which  appears  in  the  lists  of 
Thothmes  in.  [c.  1500  B.C.),  has  been  generally  accepted.* 
Some  scholars,  however,  have  recently  questioned  the  identifi- 
cation on  the  philological  ground  that  in  view  of  the  long 
d  in  Pethor  (niiriE),  (5  ^aOovpa)  the  Assyrian  form  should 
be  Pitara.  Then  explaining  away  the  statement  of  Dt.  23^ 
that  Pethor  was  in  Aram-naharaim,  they  have  sought  for 
the  place  somewhere  on  the  "river  of  Egypt"  (34^  n.), 
which,  they  allege,  is  in  Gn  36^''  called  "the  river"  simply. t 
Pitru  was  situated  a  little  S.  of  Carchemish,  not  indeed 
actually  on  the  Euphrates,  but  on  the  Sajur,  a  few  miles  from 
its  junction  with  the  Euphrates.  The  Sajur  is  a  tributary 
from  the  W.;  it  is  a  considerable  stream,  and  in  its  lower  course 
flows  between  two  ranges  of  low  chalk  hills.  J  Shalmaneser  11. 
thus  refers  to  Pitru  :  "At  that  time  I  restored  to  their  former 
condition  Ana-asur-utir-asbat,  which  the  Hittites  (Hatti)  call 
Pitru,  which  is  situated  on  the  Sagura,  on  the  far  side  of  the 

*  Sayce,  Academy,  x.  (1S76,  Sept.)  291,  and  Early  History  of  the  Hebre-ws 
(1897),  40,  22S ;  Schrader,  COT.^  '55  f- »  Fried.  Delitzsch,  Wo  lag  das 
Paradies?  269  ;  Max  Miiller,  Asienti.  Europa,  98  n.  i,  267  ;  Records  of  the 
Past  (2nd  series),  v.  38  (No.  2S0) ;  Driver  in  Hastings'  DB.  iii. 

t  Marquart,  Fundamente  israelitischer  u.  jiidischer  Geschichte  (1S96), 
73  f.  ;  Cheyne  in  EBt.  3685  f. 

X  Chesney,  Survey  of  Euphrates,  i.  419;  cp.  Sachau,  Pcise  in  Syn'en, 
156. 


326  NUMBERS 

Euphrates,  and  Mutkinu  .  .  .,  which  Tiglath-Pileser[l.:  c.  1 100 
B.C.] .  .  .  had  filled  with  settlers,  and  which  in  the  time  of  Asur- 
kirbl,  king-  of  Assur,  the  king-  of  Arumu  [the  Aramaeans]  had 
captured  by  force:  I  settled  Assyrians  therein."*  The  descrip- 
tion of  Pethor  as  situated  in  Aram-naharaim  (Dt.  23^  ^^)  quite 
agrees  with  the  Assyrian  definition  of  the  site  of  Pitru :  for 
Aram-naharaim  is  not  merely  the  country  between  the 
Euphrates  and  the  Tigris  ;  it  is  the  Naharin  [River-country] 
of  the  Egyptian  inscriptions,  called  Nahrima  or  Narima  in  the 
Tel  el-Amarna  tablets — a  district  which  appears  to  have  ex- 
tended from  the  valley  of  the  Orontes  eastwards  across  the 
Euphrates.!  The  journey  from  Pitru  to  Moab  would  be  some- 
thing like  400  miles,  and  would  occupy  over  twenty  days,  J  and 
from  any  other  place  on  the  Euphrates  the  time-distance  would 
not  be  appreciably  less.  The  four  journeys  of  the  story  would 
therefore  have  required  about  three  months.  A  journey  to 
Aram-naharaim,  related  elsewhere,  was  undertaken  with  camels 
(Gn.  24'^°) ;  the  ass  of  v.^^-si  belongs  to  a  story  which  locates 
Balaam's  home  much  nearer  Moab.§ 

To  the  land  of  the  children  of  Ammoii\  (;"ioy  ""Ja  px)  this  is 
the  reading  of  S  S  U,  and  appears  to  have  been  the  original. || 
In  MT.  it  has  been  accidentally,  or  rather,  perhaps,  deliber- 
ately, changed,  by  the  simple  omission  of  the  final  f,  into 
l»y  ''Jn  sons  of  his  people  (cp.  Gn.  23^^,  Lev.  20^'^).  The  resi- 
dence of  Balaam  among  the  Ammonites,  who  were  neighbours 
of  the  Moabites,  would  agree  with  the  features  ofv.^^-s^^  which 
are  unsuitable  in  a  story  that  locates  Balaam  a  great  distance 
off  by  the  Euphrates,  viz.  the  journey  on  an  ass,  without  a 
numerous  escort,  and  between  fields  and  vineyards.  Those 
who  prefer  MT.^  see  in  the  clause  an  explanation  that  Balaam 

*  Monolith  Inscription  III.  Rawl.  7-8,  col.  ii.  11.  36-38,  translated  KB. 
i.  163,  165  (on  which  i\\h  above  translation  is  based) ;  also,  though 
differently,  in  Records  of  the  Past  (ist  series),  92  f.  ;  cp.  Records  of  the 
Past  (2nd  series),  iv.  40  ;  KB.  i.  133. 

t  Max  Miiller,  Asien  u.  Europa,  249-267  :  EBi.  s.v.  "  Aram-Naharaim." 

X  Merrill,  East  of  the  Jordan,  p.  26S  (twenty-five  days  or  a  month). 

§  Cp.  We.  Comp.  351  ;  Merrill,  op.  cit.  (last  n.). 

II  So  Geddes,  Houb.  (see  Ooct,  p.  6),  We.,  Bacon, 

H  E.g.  Heng-st.,  Oort,  Kue.  (p.  504). 


XXII.  5,  6  327 

was  not  a  mere  sojourner  in  Aram,  but  that  it  was  his  native 
land;  the  point  of  such  a  remark  here  is  not  obvious.  It 
becomes  more  pointed  if  the  suffix  be  referred  to  Balak,*  who 
would  then  appear  as  a  foreign  conqueror  of  Moab.  But  the 
phrase  elsewhere  used  in  Heb.  for  native  land  is  different, 
viz.  mho  pN  (Gn.  1 1^3  2^  31^^).  Others,!  also  retaining 
MT.,  render  the  Imid  of  the  children  of  'Avivi^  'Amm  being 
regarded  as  the  proper  name  of  a  deity,  which  is  detected  by- 
some  scholars  in  the  proper  names  compounded  with  'Am, 
'Ammi. — To  call  him]  cp.  v.^"*^^.  Behold  it  has  covered  the 
face  (lit.  eye',  XV)  of  the  earth  like  locusts  (Ex.  lo^-^j),  and 
it  is  now  d-vaelling  or  settled  over  against  me. 

5.  .Tnns]  -KTQ  (Dt  23') +  n  t  ,  the  ace.  ending.  "S  (ariolum),  5  (]JQ-M.£i 
the  ijiterpreter),  make  the  word  an  appellative  in  app.  to  cv'73.  I^Iany  {e.g. 
Heng-st.)  while  treating  it  as  a  place-name,  misled  by  the  Heb.  |Tin3,  base 
much  on  the  supposition  that  it  means  "  Interpreters'  Town,"  overlooking 
the  fact  that  the  Aramaic  to  interpret  has  c  for  the  Heb.  a  The  meaning 
is  really  quite  uncertain. — px]  not,  of  course,  genitive  (Cr  AV. ):  for  see 
G.-K-  125a:  scarcely  locative  (Driver,  Tenses,  191,  Obs.  2),  but  rather 
ace.  of  direction  (Kon.  iii.  3306) :  cp.  32^-,  Gn.  45'-^,  Jud.  1^  21^^,  i  S.  13''. 
The  awkward  position  of  the  word,  as  also  of  ten'?  iV  NipV,  is  probably  due 
to  the  fusion  of  sources  at  this  point. — nna  run]  S  (&  (also  v.^'  in  (5"^)  and 
some  MSS.  of  JQ  '2  nj.ii :  in  v."  |^  has  D2-^  (cp.  <S  both  here  and  there). 

6.  And  not!)  come  curse  me  this  people]  Balak  contemplates 
fighting  the  Israelites,  and  wishes  them  effectually  cursed 
beforehand,  5*0  as  to  ensure  his  success.  Balaam's  curses 
have  the  reputation  for  hitting  the  mark.  Obviously  the 
Hebrew  writer  shares  the  belief,  which  he  attributes  to  Balak, 
in  the  objective  power  of  the  curse. 

The  objective  power  and  independent  existence  attributed  by  the 
Hebrews,  as  by  other  peoples  of  antiquity,  to  a  blessing  (6-'-'^)  or  curse 
(5-^'-)  is  but  a  special  case  of  the  belief  in  the  power  and  independent 
existence  of  the  spoken  word  (30"  n.).  Such  blessings  or  cursings  had 
peculiar  power  when  uttered  by  men  in  close  communication  with  the 
deity — by  a  priest  or  magician.  Among  the  solemn  blessings  or  cursings 
recorded  in  the  OT.  the  more  noticeable  are  those  of  Noah  (Gn.  9^'"), 
Isaac  (27-'^-),  Jacob  (c.  49),  Joshua   (Jos.  6-*,  cf.   i   K.  16^^),  and  Elisha 

•  Midrash  Rabbah,  Rashi  ;  cp.  Marquart,  Fundamentc,  74. 
t  Sayce,  Records  of  the  Past  (2nd  series),  iii.  p.  xi.     In  criticism  of  this 
view  see  Gray,  Heb.  Proper  Names,  52  f.  ;  also  EBi.  s.v.  "Ammi." 


o 


28  NUMBERS 


(2  K.  2-'*) ;  Isaac's  blessing-,  though  pronounced  by  mistake  over  Jacob 
instead  of  over  Esau,  once  uttered  is  beyond  even  his  own  control  ;  the 
reality  is  inseparably  associated  with  the  form  of  blessing  (Gn.  27^^)  ;  in 
blessing  Jacob,  Isaac  gives  him  the  service  of  his  brethren  (Esau),  and 
though  against  his  will  all  he  can  do  subsequently  is  to  decree  Esau  to  be 
Jacob's  servant.     See,  further,  Koberle,  Nattir  u.  Geist,  165-169. 

Where  such  beliefs  prevail,  it  is  a  very  natural  development  to  attach 
importance  to  having-  an  enemy  duly  cursed.  Goliath,  when  David  came 
to  engage  with  him  in  single  combat,  cursed  him  by  his  gods  (i  S.  17''^). 
When  it  was  a  case  of  warfare  between  tribes  or  nations,  it  would  seem 
to  have  been  customary  to  obtain  the  services  of  some  man  possessing, 
owing  to  his  exceptional  power  with  the  deity,  peculiar  skill  and  efficacy 
in  cursing.  In  an  account  of  a  much  later  period  a  closer  parallel  to 
the  story  of  Balaam  occurs.  In  the  civil  war  between  Hyrcanus  II.  and 
Aristobulus  11.  (69-63  B.C.)  the  troops  of  Hyrcanus,  largely  consisting  of 
Arabs  under  Aretas,  insisted  on  calling  in  the  help  of  Onias,  5f\-atos  avT^p 
Kal  6eo(pt\rj^,  who  onrfe  in  a  time  of  drought  had  by  his  prayers  obtained 
rain.  Brought  unwillingly  into  the  camp,  Onias  was  required  to  place 
curses  on  Aristobulus  and  his  party  (iV  oiirws  dpas  dy  Kara  ' Apiaro^ovKov 
KoX  Twv  cvcTTacnaariJov  avrov).  Instead  of  complying,  he  prayed  God  not 
to  listen  to  one  party  against  the  other.  For  this  he  was  murdered  by 
the  baser  Jews  {Ant.  xiv.  2').  Goldziher,  in  his  Essay  on  the  origin  of 
the  hij'ff  poetry  {Ahha^idlungeii  zur  arabischen  Philologie,  i.  1-121),  has 
brought  together  much  evidence  that  serves  to  illustrate  the  power  attri- 
buted to  Balaam,  and  the  part  which  he  was  asked  by  Balak  to  play. 
The  poet,  Goldziher  argues,  was  supposed  by  the  pre- Muhammedan 
Arabs  to  be  inspired  by  the  j'lnn.  The  /lij'd',  i.e.  the  utterances  of  these 
poets,  spoken  at  the  beginning  and  during  the  course  of  the  tribal  wars, 
was  as  important  as,  perhaps  indeed  more  important  than,  the  use  of 
arms.  Consequently  the  hijd',  no  less  than  warfare  itself,  was  forbidden 
during  the  sacred  month.  One  of  the  Kureish  on  the  way  to  the  battle  of 
Bedr,  addressing  a  poet,  said.  You  are  a  poet,  help  us  with  your  tongue. 
The  value  of  the  hijS!  rested  on  the  fact  that  it  was  originally  a  magical 
formula.  The  independent  existence  of  such  a  solemnly  uttered  speech  or 
curse  was  very  materially  conceived  :  it  is  an  arrow  shot  from  the  bow, 
and  "it  was  said  that  if,  when  a  man  was  cursed,  he  was  thrown  down,  it 
avoided  him  "  (Ibn  Hisham,  641,  15 — cited  by  Goldziher,  29  n.  i) ;  in  other 
words,  the  curse-arrow  passes  over  him,  leaving  him  untouched  and  un- 
injured. The  poets  employed  to  assist  in  war  were  not  always  of  the 
same  tribe  as  that  which  was  fighting  (p.  26ff. ). 

This  view  of  the  power  of  a  curse  is  practically  discarded  in  one  of  the 
later  OT.  writers  :  see  Prov.  26- ;  and  for  later  Judaism,  cp.  the  principle  ■ 
stated  in  T^rumoth  3^  cited  below  on  30*. 

For  it  (Israel)  is  stronger  than  I  aiii\  cp.  Ex.  1^.  Balak 
speaks  as  representing-  his  people ;  (fj  read,  or  paraphrased, 
than  7ae  are  ("UDO  for  ^3^0).  On  the  singular  pronoun  refer- 
ring to  Israel,  see  20^*  n.;  and  on  the  change  of  persons  in  |^, 


XXII.  7-9  329 

see  below. — 7.  The  elders  of  Midian  (see  on  v.*)  and  of  Moab 
deliver  Balak's  message  (v.^^,  also  v.^^)  to  Balaam. — It  was 
customary  to  pay  seers  or  priests  or  others  having"  special 
relations  to  the  deity  for  their  services,  and  the  fee,  whether 
in  money  or  kind,  was  offered  beforehand ;  eg:  Saul's  servant 
proposes  to  pay  Samuel  \  shekel  for  telling-  Saul  and  himself 
what  will  happen  to  them  (i  S.  9^) ;  and  people,  when  sick,  sent 
presents  to  the  seer  of  whom  they  inquired  whether  they  should 
recover  (i  K.  14^,  2  K.  8^'-).  See  also  i  K.  13'^,  2  K.  s^'-,  Am. 
7^^,  Mic.  3^.  So  Balak's  messengers  bring  (though  only  as  an 
earnest  of  what  he  might  receive,  v.^'^^-)  fees  for  Balaam ; 
these  fees  are  here  called  D'^DDp,  literally,  enchantments,  that 
is,  the  fee  for  enchantments',  so  ^"W^  glad  tidings,  in  2  S.  4^*^, 
me.ZLns  the  fee  given  to  one  for  bringing  such  tidings;  see  also 
phil.  n.  on  3^^.  The  Hebrew  writer  cannot  intend  it  to  be  an 
evil  trait  in  Balaam  that  he  is  offered,  or  even  that  he  receivec! 
fees  :  for  though  prophets  like  Micah  and  Amos  denounce  or 
indirectly  condemn  the  priests  or  prophets  who  prophesy  for  a 
reward  (Mic.  3^-  ^^  Am.  7^""^^  Ezek.  13^^),  in  earlier  times 
men  held  in  high  esteem,  like  Samuel  and  Ahijah,  received  fees, 
as  the  references  cited  above  suffice  to  show.  It  is,  however, 
possible  that  the  particular  term  employed  may  contain  some 
reflection  on  Balaam's  methods;  for  DDp,  Dpip_  (see  23^2  n.) 
are  always  used  in  the  OT.  in  connection  with  illegitimate 
means  of  obtaining  knowledge.  But  for  the  avarice  attributed 
to  Balaam  by  many  commentators,  there  is  no  support  in  the 
text  either  here  or  in  v.^^;  ct.,  rather,  v.^^  24^^.  It  is  true  that 
the  rewards  offered  to  Balaam  were  far  greater  than  those 
offered  to  Samuel ;  but  so  were  the  services  required  of  him ; 
they  were  of  national  importance  to  Moab  ;  Samuel  was  offered 
\  shekel  to  tell  an  individual  about  some  lost  asses. — 8-14. 
Balaam  promises  the  messengers  an  answer  in  the  morning; 
in  the  night  (cp.  v.^^^)  God  forbids  Balaam  to  go  (v.^^j^  T\\& 
messengers  report  their  ill-success  to  Balak. — As  Vah^ueh  shall 
tell  me]  On  Balaam's  use  of  the  name  Yahweh,  see  above,  p. 
311  f. — 9.  That  the  divine  manifestation  took  place  by  night 
is  clear  from  a  comparison  of  v.^*  and  v.^^ ;  it  is  stated  directly 
in  the  case  of  the  second  visitation  (v. 2°).     The  trait  is  charac- 


330  NUMBERS 

teristic  of  E  ;  see  12^  n.  For  a  question  of  the  kind  here  attri- 
buted to  God,  cp.  e.g.  Gn.  3^  16^. — 11.  Balaam  repeats  to  God 
in  a  sligfhtly  abbreviated  form  and  with  some  verbal  variations 
(see  phil.  n.)  the  message  of  Balak  as  given  in  v.^^-  ^*  (J). 

6.  'Tjn]  the  form  which  is  repeated  in  23''  is  abnormal  for  rrix.  So  in 
^,11.17  jg  n^^  for  a^ij:  G.-K.  670. — usfijui  .  .  .  nsj  '?3in]  the  ns:  of  MT.  is 
an  impf.  subordinated  to  a  preceding  vb. ;  the  cstr.,  common  in  Syr.  and 
Arabic,  is  rarer  in  Heb. ;  yet  see  (after  hi''  as  here)  Lam.  4"  and,  for 
further  instances,  Driver,  Tenses,  163  Obs.  The  text,  however  is  sus- 
picious. The  change  of  persons  (ist  sing-.,  then  ist  pi.,  then  again  1st 
sing.)  must  be  explained  on  the  principle  discussed  in  20^*;  cp.  also  Konig, 
iii.  206.  But  apart  from  n33,  the  ist  sing,  is  preserved  throughout  in  this 
V.  and  in  v.^^  ;  moreover,  in  v.^^  ^din  is  quite  clearly  followed  by  an  inf. 
with  h.  Probably  n^:  has  arisen  by  corruption  from  an  infinitival  form, 
the  ^  of  the  inf.  having  been  first  accidentally  dropped  after  '?(aix).  But  it 
is  unnecessary  to  invent  an  unknown  inf.  Piel  n?j  (Kon.  iii.  sggcO-  G  S 
render  "j^in  by  a  ist  pi. — a  paraphrase,  rather  than  a  real  variant.  \!1P 
assimilates  v.^  to  v.".— 13  .n33]  For  3  after  nzn,  see  i  S.  14^^  18"  23^.  Pater- 
son  in  SBOT.,  following  Gratz,  reads  "inisn,  restoring  the  more  usual  cstr. 
with  the  ace.  and  also  getting  rid  of  .123  (see  last  n.). — 8.  nan  D3nx  'n^'rni] 
i3"^''  n. — 11.  The  versions  assimilate  the  reported  message  to  the  original 
(v."-):  thus,  for— 

Kii-n  cyrt  of  MT.  S  ffi  5  read  ns'  Dy. 

on      ,,        G^  5  read  as  in  v.'  (see  note  there), 
after  psn      „       G  inserts  "haa  3b"  mm. 

nny  „  S  G  reads  nnvi. 
after  vne-iai  „  (&  inserts  pNn  p. 
Further,  G  S  U  STq  fail  to  represent  differently  the  different  words  for  to 
ciirse  {Tii"^  and  mN),  The  word  33p  (not  3p3,  for  see  23-^)  occurs  only  in  Nu. 
22-24  (>"  both  sources  J  and  E)  and  Job  3**  5^  Prov.  ii^^  24-^. — 13.  cri!-.N] 
G  c;:-iN. — I'^n'?]  This  peculiar  inf.  cstr.  (G.-K.  69.r)  occurs  twice  besides 
in  E,  v.^^  (cp.  also  v.''*),  Ex.  3^^ ;  otherwise  only  in  Eccl.  6^'-.  The  use  of 
such  peculiar  infinitives  (for  another  see  20-'  n.)  is  somewhat  characteristic 
of  E;  G.-K.  69;;?;  CH.  ii9Ik._13.  -mh\  For  in:  =  /o  suffer,  allow,  as 
characteristic  of  E,  see  p.  264. — 14.  i'?n]  This  might  be,  so  far  as  the 
consonants  go,  inf.  abs.  used  as  the  direct  obj.  (G.-K.  Ii3c0  ;  but  MT.  is 
justified  in  printing  as  cstr.  (on  the  form  see  preceding  note),  since  Jns 
clearly  takes  the  cstr.  without  h  in  Jer.  5^*. 

15-21.  The  fortunes  of  the  second  embassy  (E,  except  v.^'^'-). 
— Balak  sends  more  numerous  and  more  eminent  princes  to 
Balaam.  They  also  spend  the  night  with  Balaam,  who,  having 
obtained  permission  from  God,  departs  with  them  in  the 
morning. 

Assuming  the  avarlciousness  and  insincerity  of  Balaam, 
commentators  have  contrived  to  read  into  these  verses  much 


XXII.    11-20  ^^l 

that  is  not  there  ;  thus  the  reason  that  the  second  embassy  is 
more  eminent  in  personnel  (v.^^)  and  carry  richer  presents  (v.^''^) 
is  that  Balak  saw  in  Balaam's  refusal  an  indication  that  he 
had  not  been  offered  a  suflficiently  high  reward.  This  is  prob- 
ably enough  the  writer's  view  oi  BalaKs  attitude;  it  proves 
nothing  with  regard  to  Balaam's.  Then  it  is  quite  gratuitously 
assumed  that  v.^^^  is  hypocritically  spoken  ;  and  it  is  argued 
that  Balaam  was  wrong  to  inquire  of  God  the  second  time 
(v,^^),  instead  of  dismissing  the  princes  at  once.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  the  text  says  nothing  of  Balaam  making  a  secon«-' 
request.  Balaam  bids  the  messengers  wait  in  case  God  of 
His  own  accord  should  visit  Balaam  by  night  and  give  him 
directions.  In  v.-*'  as  in  v.^  God,  not  Balaam,  opens  the 
conversation. 

16.  Hold  not  thyself  back  frorn  coming]  the  verb  here  used 
is  the  reflexive  (Niphal)  of  that  used  (with  Yahweh  as  subject) 
in  24^^.  Possibly  the  words  are  chosen  to  indicate  that  Balak 
regarded  Balaam's  previous  refusal  as  an  excuse. — 17a.  Cp. 
v.^*"  24^^. — 17b.  The  request  is  as  before  (v.^) ;  the  verb  for 
to  ctifse  (nnp)  as  in  v.^^. — 18.  Cp.  24^^.  Balaam  warns  the 
messengers,  here  called  the  servants  of  Balak  (cf.  2  S.  io^~*, 
Gn.  40-*'  4i^''-  ^^),  that  he  can  do  nothing  either  ^^^i*  or  small, 
i.e.  nothing  at  all  (cp.  i  S.  20^  22^^  25^*^;  Kon.  iii.  92),  without 
the  permission  of  his  God,  Yahweh,  however  great  the  in- 
ducement Balak  may  offer,  even  though  it  were  his  houseful  of 
silver  and  gold',  but  (19)  he  suggests  that  they  should  stay  the 
night,  that  he  may  have  an  opportunity  of  a  nightly  visitation 
of  Yahweh,  and  of  learning  thereby  any  change  in  the  wishes 
of  Yahweh. — 20.  This  course  is  justified  by  the  event;  Yahweh 
now  commands  him  to  go,  but  to  speak  only  according  to  His 
direction.  On  the  former  occasion  (v.^°),  Balaam  tacitly  asked 
two  things — permission  to  go  to  Balak  and  permission  to  curse 
Israel;  both  were  refused  (v. ^2).  Now  the  first  is  granted; 
the  second  is  neither  definitely  granted  nor  definitely  refused ; 
but  Balaam  appears  rightly  to  have  gathered  that  what 
Yahweh  would  put  in  his  mouth  would  not  be  the  curse  that 
Balak  desired ;  and  immediately  on  meeting  Balak  he  warns 
him    to   this   effect   (v.^^ ;    cp.   2'^--  ^s).      Balak,    blinded  like 


T,^2  NUMBERS 

Pharaoh,  calls  down  on  himself  more  and  more  of  the  anger  and 
punishment  of  Yahweh  (see  above,  p.  316). — 20b.  T/iat  shall 
thou  do\  cp.  23-^;  otherwise  in  the  similar  locutions  the  verb 
speak  is  used — 22^^-  ^^  23^^  24^^. — 21a  a.  Cp.  v.^^-"^. — He  saddled 
his  ass\  the  ass  (linx)  is  a  she-ass ;  other  references  to  she-asses 
used  for  riding  are  Jud.  5^^^,  2  K.  4-^ ;  otherwise  the  he-ass 
("nnn)  is  more  frequently  referred  to  in  this  connection  (Ex.  4-°, 
Jos.  1513,  I  S.  2520,  2  S.  i62  1723  1927^  I  K.  2^0  1313,  Zech.  9^). 
The  ass  was  used  by  persons  of  all  ranks,  as  the  references 
already  cited  show,  and  was  in  early  Israel  the  animal  regu- 
larly employed  for  riding,  except  for  long  journeys  such  as  that 
to  the  Euphrates  country,  when  camels  were  used  (v.^  n.). 
Even  after  the  introduction  of  other  riding  animals  (the  mule 
and,  later,  the  horse),  the  ass  remained  in  great  demand 
(Nowack,  Arch.  i.  75  f.  224). 

18.  nay]  G  '"^- — 3nii  fjOD  in"3  n'js]  Driver,  Tcfises,  §  194. — 19.  nn  w  latr] 
a  variation  on  "3  ir'?  of  v.^  :  but  cp.  i3::"i  v.^b;  ni3  23^-29  and  mn  i:*?  12c 
Ex.  24'^  (E).  nn  is  characteristic  of  JE  (9  times)  as  against  P  who  never 
uses  it,  but  it  is  not  distinctive  of  either  J  or  E  individually  (CH.  168). — 
>;;']  Kun.  iii.  191c. 

22-35  (a  a).  Balaam  and  his  ass  (J). 

22.  And  the  anger  of  Yahweh  (so  S :  f§|  God;  see  p.  311) 
was  kindled  because  he  was  goi7ig\  This  is  clearly  not  the 
original  sequel  to  v.^of-  in  which  God  expressly  directs  Balaam 
to  go.  It  is  only  the  incidents  recorded  in  the  following  verses 
that  show  Balaam  that  his  journey  displeases  Yahweh  ;  when 
he  discovers  it,  he  offers  to  go  back  (v.^*).  It  was  the  belief 
of  the  early  Hebrews  that  Yahweh  frequently  first  manifested 
His  anger  towards  any  one  who,  however  unwittingly,  had 
offended  Him,  by  subjecting  them  to  inconvenience  or  disaster, 
e.g.  Uzzah's  well-meaning  act  draws  down  on  him  the  fatal 
anger  of  Yahweh  (2  S.  6^) ;  cp.  also  i  S.  6^^  2  S.  2iiff-. 
Balaam,  in  J's  narrative,  we  must  suppose,  after  warning 
Balak's  messengers  that  he  cannot  curse  or  bless  except  as 
Yahweh  permits  (v.^^),  sets  out  without  consulting  Yahweh  on 
the  mere  question  of  going  or  not. 

The  harmonistic  explanation  really  explains  away  the  statement  and 
replaces  it  by  another ;  Yahweh  was  not  angry  with  Balaam  for  going, 


XXII.  20-23  333 

but  for  tlie  avarice  which  induced  him  to  go.  See,  e.g'.,  Hengst.  (pp. 
43-45),  and  somewhat  similarly  Keil ;  Rashi's  explanation,  like  the  text 
itself,  really  ignores  v.^°'*,  l'?''?  niNn:i  cipnn  "J'i'n  111  nannc  nui. 

The  angel  of  Va/naek]  i.e.  a  temporary  appearance  of 
Yahweh  in  human  form  ;  note  m  his  hand,  v.-^  ;  see  20^^  n. — 
Placed  himself  in  the  ivay  as  one  who  would  oppose  ]iiv{\  or 
would  place  a  hindrance  in  his  way.  The  word  (|Dti')  here  used 
purely  attributively  becomes  later  the  name  (Satan)  of  the  arch- 
opponent  of  God  and  men:  see  already  i  Ch.  21^  (ct.  2  S.  24^). 
The  sense  of  the  word,  which  is  confined  to  this  passage  and 
v.^2  in  the  Hexateuch,  is  sufficiently  illustrated  by  i  S.  29*, 
2  S.  1923  (EV.  v."),  I  K.  5is(4)  iiU.23.25^_The  angel  of 
Yahweh  thus  meets  Balaam  as  the  latter  was  riding  vpon  his 
ass  (v.2i  n.),  his  two  servants  being  with  hi?n;  the  princes  of 
v.^^**  have  disappeared,  and  Balaam  is  here  accompanied  by 
two  servants,  the  same  number  that  Abraham  took  with  him 
for  a  three  days' journey  in  Canaan  (Gn.  22^);  sometimes  for 
a  short  journey  a  single  servant  only  was  taken  (Jud,  19^, 
I  S.  9^).  This  mode  of  travelling  suggests  that  Balaam's 
home  was  much  nearer  to  Moab  than  the  Euphrates  ;  as  a 
matter  of  fact  in  J's  narrative  Balaam  appears  to  have  come 
from  'Ammon  (v.^  n.),  which  would  be  but  two  or  three  days' 
journey  away;  Rabbath-'Ammon  is  about  40  miles  from  the 
Arnon. — 23.  Balaam  and  his  party  are  proceeding  along  a 
road  or  track  (Til)  through  cultivated  but  open  country 
(mti';  cp.  20^7  and,  e.g.,  Ex.  23^^  Mic.  3^2),  when,  unperceived 
by  Balaam  (and  apparently  by  his  servants)  but  seen  by  the 
ass,  the  angel  of  Yahweh,  with  his  sword  drawn  in  his  hand 
(cp.  V.31,  Jos.  513,  I  Ch.  21^^),  blocks  the  way;  the  ass  turns 
off  the  track  on  to  the  cultivated  land,  and  is  beaten  by 
Balaam  to  bring  her  back  into  the  way.  In  cases  of  this 
kind  it  is  not  unusual  to  represent  one  or  more  of  the  party 
as  perceiving  what  the  others  do  not  perceive,  either  at 
first  or  at  all;  cp.  2  K.  6^^^-,  Ac.  g^-^  (ct.  22^).  Apologetic 
interpreters,  such  as  Hengstenberg  and  Keil,  sought  to 
establish  the  credibility  of  this  particular  instance  by  an 
appeal  to  the  fact  that  irrational  animals  have  *'a  much 
keener  presentiment   of  many  natural   phoenomena,   such  as 


334  NUMBERS 

earthquakes,  storms,"  etc.,  than  men,    and  possess  a  power 
of  clairvoyance. — The  scenery  of  this  and  the  following  verses 
is    not  that  of  the  Syrian  desert  (v.^  n.);   if  the  Euphrates 
were  really  Balaam's  starting-point  in  this  story,  we  should 
be  compelled  to  conclude  that  the  present  incident  occurred  on 
the  last  day  or  two  of  the  long  journey,* — 24  f.  The  angel  of 
Yahweh  retreats  some  distance  before  the  advance  of  Balaam 
(cp.   v.^*^*)  till  the  track  across  the  open  cultivated  country 
becomes   a  way   between   vineyards   which   are   enclosed   by 
walls   of  stone  (Pr.  24^^),  or    rather   perhaps  of  thorns  (Is. 
5^) ;  here  he  again  blocks  the  way,  and  is  again  seen  by  the 
ass  alone ;  the  ass  having  now  no  open  country  to  turn  into, 
tries  to  pass  the  angel,  and  in  so  doing  site  crushed  herself 
against  the  wall,  and  she  crushed  Balaam's  foot  against  the 
wall. — 26  f.  The  angel  again  retreats,  and  now  takes  up  his 
stand   in  a  place  so  narrow  that   he  completely  blocks  the 
way;    the   ass   seeing   him   crouches    down,    and   is   angrily 
beaten   by  Balaam. — 28.  Then   a  marvel  happens;    Yahweh 
enables  the  ass  to  speak  and   upbraid  Balaam.     A  piece  of 
folklore  is  here  utilised  for  the  purposes  of  the  story.     Many 
similar  marvels  are  related  by  ancient  authors,!  who  record 
instances  of  speaking  horses,  cows,  rams,  lambs,  and  dogs. 
For  example,  in  the  Egyptian   Tale  of  the  two  Brothers,  I  the 
cow  says  to  its  keeper,  "Verily,  thy  elder  brother  is  standing 
before   thee  with  his  dagger  to  slay  thee "  ;  Livy  more  than 
once  relates  that  in  a  certain  year  an  ox  was  said  to  have 
spoken  with  human  voice.     The  speaking  serpent  in  Gn.  3 
is   the  only  OT.   parallel,  and  that  speaks  of  itself  without 
any  direct  assistance  of  Yahweh.     The  marvel  has  occasioned 
considerable   trouble  to   some  commentators,   who  have   re- 
garded the  narrative  as  historical,  but  have  been  unwilling 
to  admit  that  the  ass  actually  spoke.    They  have  consequently 
endeavoured  to  explain  the  difficulty  away  on  the  ground  that 
the   whole   incident   is   the  record   of  a  vision  that  Balaam 

*  Hengst. 

t  See  the  collection  of  Bochart  in  ffierosoican,  Pt.  I.  lib.  ii.  c.  xiv.  (ed. 
Rosenmiiller,  1793,  p.  168 fF.);  see  also  Kalisch,  129,  132-134. 
+  /Records  of  the  Past  (ist  series),  ii.  142. 


XXII.  24-32  335 

saw.*  Unfortunately  for  this  view  the  text  says  absolutely 
nothing'  of  a  vision.  But  the  majority  of  writers  and  commen- 
tators who  regard  the  narrative  as  historical  have  correctly 
interpreted  it  as  referring  to  a  miraculous  occurrence  ;  f  and 
some  have  been  at  pains  to  defend  and  account  for  the  marvel, 
discussing  such  questions,  for  example,  as  whether  the  vocal 
organs  of  the  ass  were  changed  in  order  to  adapt  them  to 
human  speech. — And  Yahweh  opened  the  mouih  of\  The 
same  phrase  is  used  of  Yahweh's  enabling-  a  prophet  to 
deliver  his  message,  Ezek.  3^^  3322  (cp.  Ps.  51^^). — 29.  Balaam, 
unsurprised  at  the  speech  of  the  ass  as  was  Eve  at  that  of 
the  serpent,  replies  to  her  question  why  he  had  thrice  beaten 
her,  because  thou  hast  made  sport  of  me ;  the  verb  (p?i?J~in) 
means  to  treat  some  one  (maliciously)yb/'  one's  own  pleasure.  Cr 
e/x7raL^€Lv;  cp.  Ex.  10-,  Jud.  19-^,  i  S.  6^  31*  (  =  1  Ch.  10*), 
Jer.  38^".  Had  he  only  a  sword  with  him,  Balaam  would 
slay  the  ass  outright. — 30.  The  ass  hints  that  there  was 
"reason  in  her  madness";  all  his  life  Balaam  had  used  her 
for  riding,  and  never  before  had  he  found  room  for  com- 
plaint.— 31.  A7td  Yahweh  uticovered  Balaam^s  eyes]  so  that 
he  saw  what  the  ass  had  previously  seen  (cp.  v.^^)  and  fell 
down  before  the  angel. — To  uncover  the  eyes  (D^J^i?  nb)  occurs 
also  in  Ps.  iig^^:  cp,  below,  24*- ^^  Similar  is  the  phrase 
to  open  the  eyes  (nps) ;  2  K.  &''•  ^o, — 32  f.  The  angel  addresses 
Balaam ;  the  angel,  not  the  ass,  is  the  real  hinderer  of 
Balaam's  journey.  The  ass,  so  far  from  injuring,  had  pre- 
served the  life  of  her  master.  //  is  I  (the  pronoun  is  em- 
phatic) who  have  come  forth  (Dan.  9^^)  as  a  hinderer  (v.--). — 
The  meaning  of  the  last  clause  of  v.^^  is  obvious  enough 
from  the  context :  cp.  especially  v.^^a.  34b^  'pjjg  angel,  here 
identified  with  Yahweh  (cp.  bejore  m.ey  and  see  EBi. 
"  Theophany "),  explains  that  the  reason  of  his  opposition 
is  that  he  disapproves  of  Balaam's  journey.     But  the  precise 

•  E.g^.  Maimonides,  Moreh  Nehukim,  iL  42 ;  Hengst.  pp.  4S-65 ; 
Slrack  ;  see  also  the  literature  cited  by  Di. 

t  2  P.  2'^;  Jos.  Ant.  iv.  6^;  PirM  Aboih  v.  9  (6);  Aug-.  Quast.  in 
Num.  \.  ;  Rashi  (n.  on  wnn  .rin.xi  in  v.^'),  Calvin,  Kurtz  {History  of  the 
Old  Covenant  {^n-g.  tr.),  iii.  406-423),  Wobersin,  p.  12. 


336  NUMBERS 

meaning"  of  the  verb  (t2T')  in  f^  is  uncertain,  and  the  text  of 
the  clause  auspicious  ;  see  phil.  n. — 33.  Unless  she  had  turned 
aside\  EV.  here  adopts  an  emendation  without  acknowledg- 
ment :  PJ  reads  (senselessly)  perhaps  she  turned  aside.  Read 
"hh  — unless  iox  'h\^=  perhaps. — 34.  Balaam  admits  that  he 
has  made  a  mistake  (TiNan,  op.  Ex.  g-"^)  in  pursuing  his 
way  against  hindrances,  the  meaning  of  which  he  had  at  first 
failed  to  recognise,  and  offers  to  go  home. — 35.  The  original 
reply  of  the  angel  in  J  has  been  suppressed  in  favour  of  a 
repetition  by  the  editor  from  E  (cp.  v.^*'),  Go  with  the  men 
(so  only  v.^-  ^°  E) :  but  thou  ??iust  speak  only  what  I  (the  angel) 
speak  unto  thee. — 35b.  =  v.^i^  (cp.  for  Balaky  v.^^).  It  is 
possible  only  to  speculate  as  to  the  conclusion  of  the  incident 
in  J  :  perhaps  the  angel  bade  Balaam  return  home.*  Most 
naturally  interpreted  v,^*"  seems  to  imply  that  Balaam  was  at 
home,  and  Balak  had  come  to  him.  Then  instead  of  the  two 
embassies  in  E,  the  story  in  J  told  of  one  embassy,  consisting 
of  Balak's  servants  or  courtiers,  and  of  one  personal  visit  of 
Balak.  Both  narratives  would,  however,  agree  in  making 
Balak's  insistence  the  occasion  of  his  complete  discomfiture. 

22.  ^'?1n]  the  participle  \s  followed  hy  the  subj.  after  '3  (Driver,  135  (4) ; 
S  l'?.i  (cp.  Cr  S)  is  probably  intended  to  be  pC  —  ]^->^-h]  for  the  ^  cp. 
Ex.  21^  I  S.  3™  22'^;  Kon.  332;«. — 2i.  htiiaD]  Hit.  Xey.  Apparently 
from  the  same  root  as  h]it^  (  =  j.  hollow  0/ the  hand,  Is.  40^';  2.  handful, 
I  K.  20^°:  cp.  |1i.Q_b).  Hence,  perhaps  "jiycD  mea.ns  the  confined  place 
hetwccjt  walls.  G  {ev)  rats  a.v\ai,iv  {rOiv  d^TrAwv),  S  7NJ?t5'D.  — 26.  ni:::? 
Sixcci  j-D'J  cp.  20''.— 28.  rii]  Cp.  \^"' :  BDB.  p.  26ib.—D^h:-)  ::/hc]  Cp.  v.^^'-, 
Ex.  23I*.  Otherwise  c'cys ;  cp.  Ex.  23^'^,  Nu.  14"  24I0  (S  D^'jjn).— 29. 
nnv  '3  .  .  .  iS]  Cp.  BDB.  s.v.  iS  2  end.  Cp.  nny  '3  after  ''ji'?  in  v.^ 
(reading  "h^h  for  ''jin),  On.  31-'- 43^"  (J E).  Either  the  '3  is  simply  asseve- 
rative  (as  in  m  o  2  S.  2^^  19''),  or  (less  probably)  the  sentences  are, 
strictly  speaking,  aposiopeses :  Konig,  iii.  415m;  Driver,  141. — e"]  occurs 
20  times  in  J,  only  3  (and  rather  doubtfully)  in  E  :  so  CH.  84. — 30.  "HVO 
mn  Dvn  1^]  Cp.  Gn.  48^^ ;  and  with  miiD  =  ever  since  I  was,  all  my  life  long, 
cp.  mV3  (Ps.  104'*^=  i46-)  =  50  long  as  I  shall  continue  to  be.  Literally  the 
statement  is,  of  course,  in  the  present  passage  an  exaggeration.  <&  S:  (as 
also  in  Gn.  ^&^)from  my  youth,  i.e.  ^nli;3D  (cp.  i  S.  12^,  Jer.  3"^) — a  prosaic 
paraphrase  rather  than  a  variant. — tuddh]  JEP  J  have  been  accustomed,  and 
so  many  modern  versions  and  scholars,  e.g.  RV.,  Reuss,  Socin  (in 
Kautzsch,  Heilige  Schrift),  Oort,  Str.  But  the  sense  of  pD  (used  but  twice 
besides   in  Hiphil,   Ps.    139^  Job  22^^  and  there  with  different  senses), 

*  VVellhausen. 


XXII.  33-36  337 

though  possibly  correct  and  certainly  suitable  here,  is  not  well  established. 
Di.  thinks  ffi  may  have  read  -r.h:an  (op.  Gn.  31^),  Have  I  dealt  foolishly 
in  acting  thus?  —  31.  innti"i  np'i]  in  the  Hexateuch  the  use  of  these  two 
verbs  together  is  confined  to  J,  who  uses  it  7  times:  CH.  \2.h. — 32. 
\\i-Ji\  S  (K  S  3J  ~iXivh. — -jmn  dt].  The  ^^/bt  occurs  at  most  once  besides 
— in  Job  16^^ ;  there,  if  the  text  be  correct,  the  Kal  is  trans.  ('J??"]?,  Baer, 
but  doubtless  —r-  should  have  metheg).     bt  is  explained  by  most  modern 

scholars,  who  admit  the  reading,  by  reference  to  r  M—to  throw,  cast  head- 
long', hence,  the  "way  is  (or,  reading  Pual,  has  been  made)  precipitate 
before  me;  or,  reading  pp"];,  thoic  hast  made  the  -way  precipitate,  i.e.  hast 
rushed  headlong  against  me  (Di.,  Haupt  in  SBOT.).  imn  looks  wrong: 
we  should  expect  13m  (so  S  <Sc  'E)  ;  •"'^T  may  be  the  corrupt  remainder 
of  some  word  or  words  expressing  the  wrongness  of  the  way.  The 
versions  paraphrase  or  guess.  Rashi,  who  refers  to  the  view  that  UT  was 
a  notarikon  for  (nnB)j  (nnN)T  (nxn)',  himself  connects  it  with  \^^-\  fear,  Jer. 
49-'*,  which  is,  of  course,  impossible. — 33.  'ia'?]  S  (cp.  fflr  S  U)  'Jb'^d. — 35. 
dsn]  =  "IN  (v.^**).  dsx  used  thus  only  occurs  again  in  23^^  (which  is  probably 
like  the  present  passage  redactorial). — -\^~r\\  S  ffi  "ai"?  ideti  :  cp.  23'^  J^. 

36-40.  Balak's  reception  of  Balaam.— 36  (E).  The  original 
continuation  of  v.^^. — Hearing  of  Balaam's  approach,  Balak 
goes  to  meet  him  at  the  frontier  town  oi'Ir  {city  of)  Moab 
(21^^  n.;  p.  286),  which  is  on  the  boundary  of  {i.e.  formed  by)  the 
Amon,  which  is  at  the  extremity  of  the  boundary  (cp.  20^^  E) : 
both  relative  clauses  define  'Ir  Moab:  the  first  explains  that  it 
lay  on  the  northern  boundary  of  Moab  (for  cp.  21^^),  the  second 
that  it  lay  at  the  end  of  that  boundary,  i.e.  the  eastern  end, 
since  Balaam  is  coming  from  the  east  (cp.  23'^).  Meyer 
{ZATW.  i.  120 f.)  insists  that  the  words  must  mean  which  is 
in  the  territory  about  the  Arnon  on  the  border  of  the  (Moabite) 
territory.  This  journey  of  Balak's  to  meet  Balaam  may  be  the 
modified  form  of  an  earlier  story  of  his  going  to  fetch  him 
from  his  home,  the  modification  being  perhaps  a  necessary 
result  of  locating  Balaam's  home  so  far  away  as  the  Euphrates. 
The  place  at  which  Balak  meets  Balaam  fits  in  with  a  form  of 
the  story  that  brings  Balaam  from  the  N.E. ;  in  itself  it  is 
not  decisive  between  the  competing  claims  of  'Ammon  and 
the  Euphrates  region  to  be  the  home  of  Balaam,  but  it  is 
inconsistent  with  the  suggestion  that  Balaam  came  from  the 
river  of  Egypt  (see  p.  325).  It  is  further  to  be  observed  that 
this  description  of  the  northern  border  of  Moab  agrees  with 
the  view  of  c.  21  that  tne  country  N.  of  Arnon  was  not   at 

23 


338  NUMBERS 

the  time  held  by  Moab. — 37  (J).  Balak  inquires  why  Balaam 
did  not  come  to  him?  Did  he  doubt  his  power  to  reward 
him?  Talcen  by  itself  the  verse  seems  to  imply  that  Balak 
has  himself  come  to  Balaam  in  consequence  of  his  mes- 
sengers having  failed  in  their  mission.  If  so,  the  lost 
portions  of  J's  narrative  must  have  recorded  how  Balaam 
sent  Balak's  messengers  back  with  the  evasive  answer  of 
v.^s  ^Qp^  24^2) ;  how  he  started  himself,  but  went  home  after 
meeting  the  angel  of  Yahweh  (v.^^) ;  and  how  he  received 
permission  from  Yahweh,  when  Balak  himself  came,  to  return 
with  him. — Did  I  not  send  uiito  thee  to  call  thee?\  Cp.  And 
he  sent  messengers  zcnto  Balaam  .  .  .  to  call  him,  22^  (J). — 
TV7iy  didst  thoit,  not  co7ne  to  meP]  Those  who  assume  that 
these  words  were  spoken  after  Balaam  had  come  to  Balak, 
explain,  Why  didst  thou  not  come  when  I  Jirst  sent  to  thee  ? 
This  finds  but  very  insecure  support  in  the  7tow  of  v.^. — 
Am  I  really  unable  to  honour  theeP]  cp.  v.^*^  24^^  (J). — 38. 
Balaam  warns  Balak  that  though  he  has  come,  he  can  only 
speak  as  Yahweh  directs  him.  Is  this  the  original  answer 
to  v.^^P  If  so,  render,  JLo,  I  am  come  unto  thee  now,''' 
though  I  refused  at  first.  But  the  position  of  the  word  nnj^ 
favours  rather  the  rendering,  Lo,  I a7n  come  unto  thee;  have 
I  noiQ  any  power  P\  etc.  For  nny  thus  before  questions,  cp. 
Is.  365-10  (as  here  before  n)._38b.  Cp.  i  K.  22^*.  Balaam 
is  as  little  ready  to  gratify  Balak,  as  was  Michaiah  to  gratify 
Ahab,  by  speaking  except  as  Yahweh  directed. — The  word 
which  God  puts  in  my  mout}i\  ("Sn  .  .  .  D'K'"')  cp.  2-^-  ^--  ^^  (E), 
Ex.  4^5  (JE). — 39.  Balaam  accompanies  Balak  to  Kiriath- 
husoth.  This  v.  may  well  belong  to  the  same  source  (J)  as 
v.^^,  and  refer  to  Balaam's  journey  from  the  land  of  'Ammon 
with  Balak  to  Moab.  It  is  unnecessary  and,  perhaps,  out  of 
place  between  v.^  and  *°  (see  on  v.^°).  In  the  present  com- 
posite narrative  it  refers  to  the  journey  from  'Ir  Moab  (v.^^). 
Kiriath-husoth  (  =  City  of  Streets)  is  mentioned  only  here  and, 
since  it  is  by  no  means  necessarily  identical  %  with  Kiriathaim 

*  E.g.  Hengst.,  Kue. 

t  AV.,  RV.  (cp.  3J),  Keil,  Str. 

X  As  sug-g-ested  by  Dietrich  (cited  by  Di.)  and  Tristram,  Moab,  p.  305. 


XXII.  37-40  339 

(?  mod.  KureiyatN.W.  of  Dibon;  cp.  32^'^  n.),  the  site  is  un- 
known, but  it  probably  lay  north  of  Arnon  :  see  below,  p.  340. — 
40  (E).  In  honour  of  Balaam's  arrival  Balak  sacrifices  cattle, 
large  and  small  (IXV»1  ~\p2,  cp.  2  S.  12*),  and  gives  portions  of 
the  sacrificial  flesh  to  Balaam  and  the  princes  who  had  brought 
him  (v.^^^).  Such  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  v.,  though  the 
interpretation  is  not  free  from  difficulty,  the  phrase  ajtd  Balak 
sent  to  Balaam  being  obscure :  it  cannot  mean  that  Balak  sent 
to  fetch  Balaam  from  a  distance,  since  they  have  already  met 
and  are  together  (v.^^^*) ;  it  seems  best,  therefore,  on  the 
analogy  of  Neh.  8^^  to  take  the  verb  transitively,  the  unex- 
pressed object  being  supplied  in  thought  from  the  preced- 
ing clause.*  In  illustration  of  the  custom  of  giving 
special  portions  to  visitors,  cp.  i  S.  q-^*-.  Von  Gall  (p.  10) 
thinks  that  the  last  clause  of  the  verse  is  a  gloss  replacing 
perhaps  the  original  object  of  the  vb.,  which  mentioned 
the  entrails  of  the  sacrificial  animals  from  which  Balaam 
was  to  discover  God's  willingness  to  curse  Israel.  If  the 
sacrificial  feast  be  in  honour  of  Balaam's  arrival,  v.^^  is  in 
all  probability  intrusive,  since  the  feast  would  naturally  be 
made  at  the  place  where  Balaam  and  Balak  met,  viz.  at 
'Ir  Moa'b  (v.^^).  Others  f  explain  the  sacrifice  as  the  com- 
mencement of  the  supplicatory  oflferings  of  the  following 
day :  this  is  less  satisfactory,  for  would  not  Balak  have  left 
this  till  he  reached  the  scene  of  operations  at  Bamoth  Ba'al 
(v.40)? 

37.  'nn^sr  xhv  xSn]  The  inf.  abs.  is  here  as  often  {e.g.  v.^"-^,  Gn.  24^ 
2-8.  loj  used  to  emphasise  the  question:  Kon.  329^18.  There  is  therefore 
no  necessary  reference  in  the  question  to  the  sending  of  two  embassies, 
and  We. 's  criticism  {Comp.^  348)  of  Kuenen  is  on  this  point  unquestionably 
sound.— c:2Nn]  cp.  Gn.  i8^»,  — 38.  nmx]  S  G-^^  ui*?  -ioti/H;  cp.  v.^  n.— 
S9.  iK3'i]  S  5  inj<3'i. 

XXII.  41-XXIII.  6  (E).  Balak  makes  arrangements  for 
Balaam  to  curse  Israel  in  due  form. — 22-"'*''  contains  the  account 
of  Balak's  attempt,  at  first  unsuccessful,  to  get  Balaam  to 
come  ;  22*^-24-^  the  account  of  Balak's  increasing  ill-success 
in  bringing  Balaam's  visit  to  the  desired  issue.  It  is  im- 
•  Heng-sL,  Oort,  Dl  t  Hengst.,  Di.,  Str. 


340  NUMBERS 

portant  to  determine  as  clearly  as  possible  the  duration  and 
scene  of  the  actual  visit. 

According  to  22"*^,  on  the  morning-  after  Balaam's  arrival, 
Balak  takes  him  to  Bamoth  Ba'al.  There  is  no  other  note  of 
time,  and  apparently  the  whole  of  the  following  events — the 
sacrifices  at  the  several  places,  the  several  utterances  of 
Balaam,  and  Balaam's  departure — are  thought  of  as  occurring 
in  a  single  day. 

The  scene  of  these  events  is  in  view  of  part  or  the  whole 
of  the  Hebrew  hosts  (22*^  23^^  24^,  cp.  23^),  and  the  places 
specifically  mentioned,  as  visited  by  Balaam  are  Bamoth  Ba'al 
(22"),  "the  field  of  Sophim  "  on  "the  top  of  Pisgah  "  (23I*), 
"the  top  of  Peor  that  looketh  down  upon  the  Jeshimon  " 
(23^^).  Unfortunately  for  none  of  these  places  has  any  precise 
and  certain  identification  been  made.  Nevertheless  it  seems 
probable  that  all  the  traditions  alike  placed  the  scene  NortJi  of 
the  Amo7i. 

This  is  certainly  the  implication  of  the  present  composite  story :  for 
the  Israelites  are  encamped  N.  of  the  Dead  Sea  and  E.  of  the  Jordan 
(22^  25^),  and  sites  overlooking'  them  there  must  be  at  least  N.,  and,  in- 
deed, considerably  N.  of  the  Anion.  The  same  holds  good  of  the  com- 
bined source  JE,  to  which  25^  (mostly  assigned  to  E)  belong-s,  if  we  may 
take  that  as  determining  Israel's  position  during'  the  events  here  recorded  ; 
not  necessarily,  however,  if  Israel's  position  is  to  be  defined  more  widely, 
according'  to  2i-^*^S  as  being  in  the  "  Amorite  country,"  for  that  included 
all  land  N.  of  the  Arnon  {21^^).  A  similarly  indefinite  description  of 
Israel's  position  occurs  in  the  narrative  itself — 24^  (J).  If  this  excludes 
the  position  at  the  N.E.  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  the  present  episode  in  J 
must  have  stood  before  the  fragment  in  21^^"^". 

Of  the  places  mentioned,  we  know  that  "  the  Pisgah  "  lay  at  least  in 
part  very  considerably  N.  of  Arnon  (see  on  21-") ;  there  is  no  evidence  that 
it  extended  S.  of  Arnon  ;  moreover,  no  site  overlooked  from  one  of  the 
headlands  of  the  Rloabite  plateau  S.  of  Arnon  would  be  suitable  for  the 
Israelilish  encampment.  Pe'or  (23^^),  if  not  a  mere  editorial  substitute 
for  the  Pisgah,  must,  in  view  of  the  identical  definition  of  the  site,  have 
lain  in  the  same  neighbourhood.  Bamoth  Ba'al  must  at  least  have  lain 
N,.  of  Arnon  (cp.  Jos.  13").  E,  then,  certainly  places  the  entire  events 
N.  of  the  Arnon  (22"  23" ;  cp.  25^)  ;  J  also,  if  we  assign  to  him  23^^,  or 
identify  Kiryath-husoth  (22^''')  with  Kiriathaim  ;  or  assume  that  the  com- 
piler has  not  violated  the  order  of  events  as  given  in  J  in  placing  2ii'^--*' 
before  this  stor}'. 

Thus  for  the  following  events,  according  to  the  composite 


XXII.  41  341 

narrative,  the  source  E  and   possibly  also  the  source  J,  we 
reach  the  conclusion — 

Duration :  one  day.  Scene :  various  sites  N.  of  Arnon. 
Now  the  mere  events  would  have  crowded  a  single  day  un- 
duly ;  but  when  it  is  considered  that  the  solemn  sacrifices 
were  off"ered  on  three  different  sites  (not  immediately  con- 
tiguous, and,  according  to  some  identifications,  separated 
from  one  another  by  more  than  a  day's  journey),  it  will  be  seen 
that  we  are  here  moving  (as,  e.g.y  in  Job  ii3-22^  jj^  |-j^g  realm  of 
poetry,  not  of  fact.  *'  We  should  very  surely  do  the  author 
wrong  if  we  should  take  him  literally,  and  begin  to  reckon 
out  how  all  this  can  possibly  have  taken  place  within  the 
limits  of  time.  He  is  a  poet,  and  will  be  understood  as  a 
poet."*  Once  this  is  appreciated  we  may  also  dismiss  the 
question  how  the  king  of  Moab  and  his  princes  ventured 
unprotected  into  the  territory  N.  of  the  Arnon,  though  it  had 
been  just  captured  by  the  Israelites  from  the  Amorites. 

The  unreality  or,  in  other  words,  the  poetical  character  of 
the  narrative  extends  apparently  to  the  source  E.  It  is  less 
obvious  that  the  reasons  stated  apply  to  the  source  J. 

41.  In  the  morning  of  the  day  following  the  sacrificial 
feast  of  v.^°  Balak,  accompanied  by  the  princes  of  Moab  (23*^), 
takes  Balaam  from  'Ir  Moab  (v.^^  E,  rather  than,  as  the  com- 
posite narrative  implies,  from  Kiriath-husoth,  v.^^  J)  to  Bamoth 
Ba'al,  which  lay  near  Dibon,  not  far  north  of  the  Arnon,  or, 
according  to  others,  much  further  north,  near  the  modern  el- 
Maslubiyeh  (see  21^^  n.).  The  site  was  chosen  mainly  in 
order  that  Balaam  might  deliver  his  curse  in  sight  of  the 
objects  of  it  (23^^  24^),  but  also  because  it  was,  as  its  name, 
the  high  places  of  Baal,  indicates,  an  ancient  shrine.  "The 
places  at  which  Balaam  took  his  stand  and  looked  for  omens 
were  all  probably  sanctuaries.  The  range  is  covered  with  the 
names  of  deity — Ba'al,  Nebo,  Pe'or.  Nor  could  there  be  more 
suitable  platforms  for  altars,  nor  more  open  posts  for  observ- 
ing the  stars,  or  the  passage  of  the  clouds,  or  the  flight  of 
birds  across  the  great  hollow  of  the  'Arabah.  The  field  of 
Gazers  was  rightly  named.  To-day  the  hills  have  many 
*  Kuenen,  Th.  Ti.  530  ;  cp.  Oort,  6S  f. 


342  NUMBERS 

ancient  altars  and  circles  of  stones  upon  them."*  The  ex- 
tremity of  the  people  (Dyn  ^;^>•p),  i.e.  the  nearest  part  of  the 
Israelites,  or  the  part  unobscured  by  the  intervening-  hills  :  not 
the  whole,  including-  the  most  distant  part  (cp.  Vnx  HifpD  and 
the  use  of  r\'i'^'2  Gn.  ig"*) ;  for  cp.  23^^. 

XXIII.  If.  At  Balaam's  direction  Balak  builds  seven 
altars,  doubtless  of  material  on  the  spot,  such  as  earth  or 
undressed  stones  (cp.  Ex.  20^*'-),  and  offers  on  each  a  bullock 
and  a  ram.  The  same  solemn  rites  are  gone  through  at  the 
Field  of  Sophim  (v.^*)  and  on  the  top  of  Pe'or  (v.^^).  Their 
object  is  favourably  to  dispose  God,  that  He  may  grant  Balak's 
desire,  and  suffer  Israel  to  be  cursed.  For  other  instances  of 
the  use  of  seven  sacrificial  victims,  or  the  repetition  of  a 
ritual  act  seven  times,  see,  e.g..^  Gn.  2i2^^-,  Lev.  4^,  Job  43^; 
see  also  the  introduction  to  c.  28. 

Discussions  of  the  sacred  significance  of  the  number  "  seven  "  among 
various  peoples  may  be  found  in  Hengstenberg,  Gesch.  Bileams,  70-73  ; 
Hastings'  DB.  iii.  565  (Konig) ;  EBi.  3436  (Barton).  The  seven  walls  of 
the  underworld  of  Babylonian  mythology,  the  seven  evil  spirits  (Jastrow, 
Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  570,  264  f),  the  constantly  recurring 
seven-fold  obeisance  ("At  the  foot  of  my  lord  the  king  seven  times  and 
seven  times  I  fall")  of  the  Palestinian  correspondence  of  c.  1400  B.C. 
(Tel  el-Amarna),  may  serve  as  illustrations.  A  single  close  parallel  from 
a  Latin  writer  may  be  added :  "  Nunc  grege  de  intacto  septem  mactare 
iuvencos  PrEestiterit,  totidem  leclas  de  more  bidentis"  (Vergil,  ^n.  vL 
38  f.). 

And  Balak  did  as  Balaam  had  said,  and  offered  a  bullock 
and  a  ram  on  each  altar\  So  ©  correctly  reads.  In  f^  the 
words  Balak  and  Balaam  are  inserted  as  the  subject  of  offered^ 
but  the  addition  is  obviously  a  gloss.  The  subject  of  the  two 
verbs  (i'j;^1  .  .  .  ti'yi)  is  the  same :  it  is  Balak  alone  who  offers 
the  sacrifices.  Note  ' '  thy  (his)  burnt-offering,"  v.^-  ^-  ^^-  ^^.  The 
gloss  appears  to  be  due  to  v.^^,  a  misplaced  and  consequently 
misunderstood  clause. — 3.  Balaam  goes  some  way  off  alone, 
in  the  hope  that  Yahweh  (S  God)  may  cross  his  path ;  the 
verb  nip:  is  also  used  of  the  meeting  of  God  and  man  in 
v.*- 1^^-,  Ex.  3^8  and  (Xip3)  5^  (all  JE).  It  is  generally  supposed 
♦  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  566. 


XXIII.  i-s  343 

that  Balaam  goes  away  to  make  observations  of  natural 
phenomena,  with  a  view  to  discovering  in  them,  as  a  magician, 
the  will  of  God.*  But  this  view  is  not  established  by  a  refer- 
ence to  24^,  and  gains  no  support  from  it  if  that  passage  be 
from  a  different  source.  The  view  is  rather  to  be  rejected 
on  the  ground  of  the  parallels  in  Ex.  3^^  5^  (cp.  also  Am.  4^^),t 
and  also  because  Balaam  had  reason  to  believe  that  God 
would  speak  to  him  as  directly  as  He  had  previously  done 
(2220),  Moreover,  in  the  following  narrative  no  allusion  is 
made  to  discernment  by  magical  means,  but  to  direct  revela- 
tion of  God  (v.^-  ^^). — On  this,  as  on  other  grounds,  the 
emendation  must  be  rejected  which  has  been  suggested  for 
the  corrupt  word  ('EC')  at  the  end  of  the  v.,  making  the  last 
clause  run.  And  he  -joent  to  seek  enchanivienis  (n'SC'ni?).!  And 
he  went  to  a  bare  height  (RV.)  can  be  just  defended.  But  it 
is  suspicious.  Why  a  bare  height  ?  Scarcely  because  it  was 
sacred,  for  Bamoth  Ba'al  itself  was  sacred ;  nor  (on  grounds 
stated  above)  in  order  that,  like  the  Roman  augurs,  who  chose 
open  and  lofty  places  for  their  observations,  Ba,laam  might 
perform  magic  rites.  See  phil.  note. — 4  f.  God  meets  Balaam 
and  gives  him  **  a  word,"  and  bids  him  return  and  deliver  it 
to  Balak.  V.^*  should  immediately  follow  *" ;  cp.  v.^".  The  in- 
tervening clause  (v.^^)  is  a  misplaced  speech  of  Balak's  (which 
originally  stood  between  v.^  and  '^\  informing  Balaam  that  he 
had  done  according  to  his  request.  It  was  Balak,  not  Balaam, 
who  prepared  and  offered  the  sacrifices  (v,^  and  note  on  -^). 
5a.  This,  no  doubt,  originally  ran:  and  he  (viz.  God,  v.^^)  put 
a  word  in  his  (Balaam's)  month  (cp.  22^^  n.),  as  in  v.^^;  an 
editor  inserted  Yahweh  and  of  Balaam  for  clearness'  sake 
after  the  accidental  misplacement  of  v.*^  (see  last  note). 
Originally,  then,  v.^-s  ran  :  2  And  Balak  did  as  Balaam  had 
said  unto  him,  and  offered  a  bullock  and  a  ram  on  each  altar. 
"^  And  he  said  to  him,  I  have  arranged  the  seven  altars,  and 
offered  a  bullock  and  a  ram  on  each  altar.  And  Balaam  said  to 
Balak,  Stand  here  by  thy  burnt-offerings  and  let  me  go ;  per- 
haps God  will  fall  in  with  me,  and  whatsoever  he  sliows  me 

*  E.g.  Hengfst,  Di.,  Kue.,  KeiL  -f  Oort. 

X  Kuenen,  Robertson  Smith. 


344  NUMBERS 

I  will  tell  thee.  And  he  laent  ai'oay.  .  .  .  ^  Arid  God  fell  in  with 
Balaam,  ^  and  put  a  word  in  his  month. — 3.  Balaam  returns 
to  Balak  and  the  princes  of  Moab. 

ii.  hvz  ma^]  ©TTjK  ffTrikrjv  TOvBaiX  ;  ^^  rrnSm  n'cr\  =  high  place  of  his  god. 
— XXIII.  1.  ni3]  see  22^^  n. — n:n]  S  rtvxj. — 3.  -jS  -m^ni  ':xt  ,-id  nnn]  Either,  if 
He  show  vie  aught,  I  luill  tell  thee — a  hypothetical  sentence  similar  to  the 
type  discussed  in  Driver,  §  149  (BDB.  p.  553^)  ;  or  rather,  ivhatsoever  He 
shows  me,  I  will  tell  thee;  no,  as  2  S.  21*  (BDB.  p.  553a  {e)).  The  latter 
view  is  favoured  by  the  fact  that  Balaam  expects  a  "  word"  from  Yahweh. 
In  either  case  the  whole  idiom  is  unusual.  Kuenen's  suggestion,  to  read 
n3"!i  and  connect  with  the  preceding-,  is  not  acceptable. — "3::']  apparently 
the  sing.,  used  only  here,  of  D"£C'  bare  heights  (Jer.  3-- "^  4'^  7-^  12^-  14^, 
Is.  41^^  49^t)-  The  sing,  '-jc  perhaps  occurs  with  the  meaning  of  bald- 
ness in  Job  33-^  (Kt. ).  The  simple  ace.  of  direction  is  possible,  though 
the  present  is  an  improbable  instance  (cp.  Kon.  iii.  330c).  None  of  the 
ancient  versions  recognise  the  meaning  bare  height,  nor  is  it  favoured 
by  the  verb  here  used  ;  if  such  were  the  meaning,  h]3^^  would  be  more 
natural.  It  is  possible  that  'sc  i^'i  is  but  a  corrupt  fragment  of  an 
originally  longer  text,  ffi  has  /cat  TrapiaTrj  BaXa/c  eirl  r^s  Ovaiat  airou.  /cat 
BoKaa/j.  iiropevdy]  iirepuTTJirai  Tbv  debv'  ical  iiropevd-q  elOelav  ;  yet  the  last  two 
clauses  of  (&  are  clearly  doublets ;  U  has  cumque  abiissit  velociter. 
It  is  not  clear  that  the  Versions  had  anything  but  the  present  Heb.  text 
before  them. — 6.  3N1d]  (&  +  tier  avrov  ;  cp.  v.^^  Jt^ 

7-10  (E).  Balaam's  first  utterance. — In  a  poem  of  14  lines 
{7  distichs),  consisting"  for  the  most  part  of  three  or  four  words 
each,  Balaam  explains  the  cause  and  purpose  of  his  visit  (v.^), 
and  that  it  is  doomed  to  failure  (v.^) ;  he  dwells  on  the  inde- 
pendence (v.^)  and  the  vast  numbers  of  Israel  (v.^^'*),  and  closes 
with  the  wish  that  their  fortune  may  be  his. 

7.  Ajid  he  took  up  his  discourse^  so  v.^^  24^-  ^^-  ~^-  2^-  ^.  For 
NE'3  to  take  ttp  (on  the  lips)  = /<?  ntter,  cp.,  in  addition  to 
i'lpxiJ'J,  n?X  .  .  .  S'^'3  =  /o  utter  a  curse  (i  K,  S^^),  r\':''^  'l  =  to 
titter  a  dirge  (Jer.  7-^),  and  the  noun  SK'.o  =  an  utterance.  There 
is  no  satisfactory  equivalent  in  English  for  the  term  mashdl 
which  is  applied  to  all  Balaam's  poems.  Discourse,  though 
preferable  to  parable  (RV.),  which  is  here  wholly  unsuitable 
and  even  misleading",  is  itself  inadequate,  and  must  be  under- 
stood as  implying"  something  poetical  and  conceived  in  an 
elevated  strain.  Any  suggestive  saying  that  implied  more  than 
it  actually  said  might  apparently  be  called  a  mashdl,  as  being 
a  likeness,  a  represe^xtation,  i.e.  a  statement  standing  for  or 


XXIII.  6,  7  345 

representing  other  facts  (see  Fleischer  in  Delitzsch's  Proverbs 
on  i^).  Haupt  [SBOT.  Prov.  p.  32  f.)  has  recently  argued  that 
the  original  meaning  was  simply  a  verse  of  poetry  or  a  verse  as 
something  that  consisted  of  two  halves;  cp.  Assyr.  mislu  =  half. 
But  wide  as  the  actual  usage  of  inashCil  is,  this  seems  too 
general,  and  does  not  explain  certain  early  applications  of  the 
term  (i  S.  lo^^  24^*);  the  same  criticism  applies  to  another 
suggestion  (offered,  e.g.,  by  BDB.)  that  viashal  means  speech 
cast  in  parallelism.  The  early  mashals  cited  in  i  S.  10^'-  24^^ 
are  short  current  sayings  which  are  neither  cast  in  parallelism 
nor  are  verses.  Other  instances  of  maslml  used  of  popular 
proverbs  may  be  found  in  Ezek.  12^2  iS^.  Mdshal  is  also  used 
of  lamentations  (exultant  or  otherwise)  over  some  one's  fall 
(Is.  14*,  Mic.  2*,  Hab.  2":  cp.  n.  on  21^7),  whence  probably 
arose  the  transferred  meaning  common  in  Deuteronomy,  and 
later,  a  byword^  an  object  of  taunting  [e.g.  Dt.  28^^) ;  or  of 
parabolic  or  allegorical  utterances  (Ezek.  17^  24^).  In  later 
Hebrew  it  came  to  be  used  specifically  of  didactic  and  artistic- 
ally constructed  sentences,  such  as  constitute  and  give  its 
name  to  the  Book  of  Proverbs  or  ArsMlim  (Prov.  i^  10^  25^ 
267-®,  Job  13^2^  Eccles.  12*).  The  present  use  (cp.  Job  27^ 
29^)  seems  to  be  an  extension  of  the  last;  these  poems  of 
Balaam  have  in  them  something  of  a  declaratory,  senten- 
tious, or  didactic  character.  The  term  is  never  used  of  the 
ordinary  discourse  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  or  of  ordinary 
Hebrew  poetry. 

'  Balak  bringeth  me  from  Aram, 

The  king  of  Moab  from  the  mountains  of  East : 

"Come,  curse  me  Jacob, 

And  come  denounce  Israel." 
^  How  can  I  curse  whom  God  hath  not  cursed? 

Or  how  denounce  whom  Yahweh  hath  not  denounced  ? 
°  For  from  the  top  of  the  rocks  I  see  him, 

And  from  the  hills  behold  him — 

Lo  !  a  people  dwelling  alone. 

And  not  accounting  itself  as  one  of  the  nations. 
^^  Who  hath  numbered  the  dust  of  Jacob? 

Or  *who  hath  counted  the  myriads'  of  Israel? 


346  NUMBERS 

May  my  soul  die  the  death  of  the  upright, 

And  may  my  closing-  days  be  like  his  ! 
7.  Cp.  22^^-.  Aram,  according  to  Dt.  23^  and  the  prevalent 
v^iew  of  Nu.  22^  (see  note  there),  here  refers  in  particular  to 
the  region  of  the  Euphrates.  Generally  Aram  standing  by 
itself  refers  to  the  Aramaean  region  round  Damascus,  whence 
the  country  about  the  Euphrates  is  commonly  defined  either 
as  Aram  -  naharaim  or  (in  P)  as  Paddan  -  aram.  But  Hos. 
J213  (12)  refers  to  the  same  district  as  "  the  region  of  Aram  "  {pTC 
D"iX),  of  which  the  present  use  may  be  regarded  as  a  not  un- 
natural poetical  abbreviation.  In  any  case,  however  peculiar, 
there  is  nothing  to  show  that  the  present  is  a  very  late  usage  ;  * 
it  might  quite  as  well  be  very  early. — The  inountams  of  the 
East\  mp  mn  occurs  also  in  Dt.  33^^,  but  there  means  ancient 
mountains^  which  von  Gall  (p.  19)  adopts  here.  The  land  of  the 
children  of  the  East  (mp  ^jn  px)  lay  between  Canaan  and  the 
home  of  Laban  the  Aramaean  (On.  29^  E).  The  "  children  of 
the  East"  were  nomad  tribes  (Gn.  25^^^),  wandering  E.  of  the 
cultivated  lands  of  'Ammon,  Moab,  and  Edom  (Ezek.  25*-  ^^, 
Jer.  49-^,  Jud.  6-8).  The  mountains  of  the  East  vm.y  therefore  be 
the  high  ranges  of  the  Syrian  desert,  visible  on  the  far  southern 
and  western  horizons  from  above  the  lower  courses  of  the  Sajur 
on  which  Pethor  lay,t  hardly  the  low  ranges  (22^  n.)  of  the 
Sajur  valley  itself. — -Jacob  .  .  .  Israel]  the  use  of  these  terms 
in  parallelism  is  common  to  all  four  poems  (v.^*'-  -^-  -^  24^-  i7(isf.)j_ 
The  frequent  use  of  the  parallelism  is  characteristic  of  two 
other  writers  only,  viz.  Isaiah  40-55  (17  times)  and  Micah 
1-3  (4  times). J — 8.  The  poetical  equivalent  of  22^^. — 9,  10a. 
The  sight  of  Israel  is  proof  to  Balaam  that  God  will  bless  and 
not  curse  the  people.  If  the  poem  is  to  be  interpreted  by  the 
prose  introduction,  Balaam  sees  only  part  of  the  people  (22*^) ; 
possibly,  however,  it  should  be  inferred  from  this  verse,  which 
does  not  suggest  a  partial  and  impeded  view,  that  an  existing 
poem  was  incorporated  by  the  prose  waiter  In  his  narrative, 
and  not  specially  written  by  himself  for  it. — Dwelling  alone] 
securely  and  unmolested ;  cp.  Dt.  33-^,  Mic.  7^*,  Jer.  49^^  and 

*  Von  Gall,  Biham-Perikope,  lyL  t  Sachau,  Reise,  159. 

X  Gray  in  Crit.  Revietv  (1898),  viii.  2S1  f. ;  von  Gall,  19-22. 


XXIII.  7-ic  347 

perhaps  Ps.  4^. — Not  accounting  itself  one  of  the  nations]  but 
peculiar,  unique  in  its  prosperity  and  good  fortune ;  the 
Israehtes  thought  of  themselves  as  so  conspicuously  fortunate, 
that  all  other  peoples  must  wish  to  be  equally  fortunate  (Gn. 
i22f-  28^^*-).  Others  *  take  the  phrase  to  mean  constituting  of 
itself  a  state,  and  not  merely  the  province  of  a  great  empire ; 
others,!  a  people  distinguished  by  its  peculiar  religion.  For 
Israel's  sense  of  its  peculiar  relation  to  Yahweh,  and  conse- 
quent unique  position  in  the  world,  see  Ex.  19^  (JE)  and 
the  kindred  passages,  which  are,  however,  presumably  later 
than  the  present. — 10.  The  dust  offacob]  i.e.  the  number  of  the 
descendants  of  Jacob,  which  is  like  the  dust ;  Gn.  13'^  28^*. — 
Who  hath  reckoned  the  myriads  of  Israel  ?\  This  translation  is 
based  on  (5,  and  is  probably  correct ;  \  with  the  myriads  of 
Israel^  cp.  10^^.  It  is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  that 
the  present  text  of  f^  (whence  RV.,  or  by  number  the  fourth 
part  of  Israel)  is  the  original.  On  it  is  based  the  very  prosaic 
conclusion  that  Balaam  only  saw  one  of  the  four  camps  into 
which  Israel  was  divided  (c.  2  (P)).§  RV.  margin  is  not  a 
rendering  of  5^.  See,  further,  phil.  n.  In  the  closing  couplet 
Balaam  illustrates  the  saying  that  by  Israel  all  nations  should 
bless  themselves,  i.e.  in  invoking  blessing  on  themselves 
should  use  Israel  as  the  type  of  blessing,  and  say,  May  God 
make  me,  or  may  I  be,  like  Israel  (cp.  Gn.  48-°).  For  the 
upright  {}'shart?7i)  are  the  typical  or  ideal  individuals  among 
Israel  (Yisrael) ;  in  v.'°°  Balaam  expresses  the  desire  to  die 
the  death  of  individual  true  Israelites,  in  v.^"**  to  enjoy  a 
future  like  that  of  the  people — prosperous  and  secure  as  it  has 
just  been  described.  A  similar  tacit  reference  to  Israel  is 
probably  to  be  found  in  the  title  of  a  collection  of  early  Hebrew 
(national)  poems.  The  Book  of  the  Upright  [Sepher  hay-yashar) ; 
cp.,  further,  the  poetical  title  for  Israel,  Vshurtin.  At  the  same 
time  the  death  of  the  upright  expresses  its  own  proper  meaning, 
a  death  not  premature  or  violent  (cp.  Job  4'^),  but  peaceful  and 
in  a  good  old  age,  such  a  death  as  the  heroes  of  national  story 
died  (Gn.  15^''').     On  the  locution  may  my  soul  die.,  see  phil.  n. 

•  Oort.  t  Di.,  Keil,  von  Gall  (p.  25). 

t  Cp.  e.g.  Di.,  Gcs.-Buhl  [s.v.  y^i),  Kaulzscli.  §  C.  Kcil. 


348  NUMBERS 

on  5^.  By  my  end  or  future  (^JT'inx),  which  Balaam  wishes  to 
be  prosperous  like  Israel's  (now  referred  to  in  the  collective 
singular — ^inD3),  is  intended  the  closing  days  or  years,  the  latter 
part  yet  to  come  contrasted  with  the  first  part  (n^K'Nl,  cp.  Job 
8'^  ^2^^),  now  over,  of  this  present  life.  The  old  unhistorical 
view  which  saw  in  these  words  an  allusion  to  a  Hebrew  belief 
in  a  future  life  of  blessedness  beyond  the  grave,  and,  conse- 
quently, a  wish  on  the  part  of  Balaam  for  such  a  blessed  after- 
life, was  criticised  at  length  by  Hengstenberg  (pp.  94-101), 
and  has  been  generally  abandoned.  Some  regard  v.^°°**  as  a 
subsequent  addition  to  the  poem.* 

7.  (&  (under  the  influence  of  24^)  inserts  at  the  beginning  of  this  v.  nal 

i-yevrjdT]  Trveu/xa  Beov  eV  avT(^. — ':nr]  Dr.  Tenses,  27  ;  Da  v.  45  n.  2. — noyi] 
The  usual  sense  of  JdI!1  in  Heb.  is  to  be  indicant,  and  it  is  always  used 
of  Yahweh  except  in  Dan.  1 1**  and  (the  noun)  in  Hos.  7^*,  Jer.  15".  In  the 
present  passage  and  in  Pr.  24^,  Mic.  6'",  this  meaning  is  hardly  suit- 
able. Our  best  clue  to  the  meaning  is  the  parallel  (here  and  in  Pr. )  which 
suggests  a  synonym  for  to  curse  ;  so  <&  [iTVLKaTdpacraL,  KaTapdrai),  U  {detestor), 
Ges.   (Thes.),   BDB.,   Ges.-Buhl.     The   rare  Aram.  isOL]  means  to  find 

fault  with,  to  blame.  The  Arabic  *^J  is  used  of  speaking  simply  ;  t^'J 
(with    C),  a  rare  verb,  is  used  of  angry   speech  (Lisdn   el-' Arab). — 10. 

niD  'd]  On  the  pf.  in  such  questions  as  this  (cp.  17^),  see  Dr.  Tenses,  icp. 
— iSDOi]  Those  who  retain  the  text  explain  this  as  an  ace.  of  closer 
definition ;  so  Ew.  {Syntax,  283a),  according  to  number,  i.e.  exactly,  as 
though  the  thought  were,  the  people  are  too  numerous  to  number  quite 
accurately  !  The  closer  definition  is  here  manifestly  not  only  superfluous 
(in  spite  of  Hengst.'s  curious  contention  to  the  contrary,  strangely 
accepted  by  Oort),  but  objectionable.  Read  ns?  '9 ;  so  Cr  (cf.  U), 
Geddes,  Di.,  Kautzsch,  Konig  (iii.  330^/3).  For  n:a  and  iBO  together, 
cp.  I  K.  3*  ;  and  for  nso  used,  as  here,  with  reference  to  an  innumerable 
host,  Gn.  15'.  r\ll-\  =  myriads  for  V2'\=f3urth  part,  is  conjectural  but  prob- 
able. <&  [b-qfiovs)  does  not  appear  to  have  read  I'-t. — wdd  tersely  for  innnxD  : 
cp.  nVna  "hit  mcc,  Ps.  i8**. 

11-17.  Introduction  to  Balaam's  second  utterance.  —  11  f. 
Balaam,  in  reply  to  Balak's  angry  reproach  for  the  blessing 
just  pronounced,  reminds  the  king  that  he  had  fairly  warned 
him  (22^^)  that  he  would  not  be  answerable  for  the  character 
of  his  utterances,  which  would  be  determined  by  Yahweh  and 
not  by  himself. — 11.  To  curse  my  enemies  I  took  t/iee]  (iTinp^  ; 
•  SBOT.  ;  von  Gall.  25  f. 


XXIII.  II-I3  349 

cp.  22«  231*- 27');  G  ^^  I  Called  thee  {yr\)r\p ;  cp.  225- 20.  s7)__ 
^wfl^  /c/  //wz^  /ifl^/  done  nothing  but  bless\  such  is  the  force  of 
the  infin.  abs.  113  ro'O  ;  Dav.  86c. —12.  Cp.  22^5(20)  23^.— 
13.  Balak  proposes  to  take  Balaam  to  another  place  in  the 
hope  of  getting  a  curse  pronounced  from  thence.  It  was  a 
matter  of  constant  experiment  to  find  out  the  place  in  and  the 
circumstances  under  which  a  god  would  favourably  regard 
special  requests  ;  some  places  were  more  adapted  for  one  kind 
of  manifestation  ;  others  for  another.  Even  the  Hebrews  had 
one  special  mountain  of  cursing  ('Ebal)  and  another  for  bless- 
ing (Gerizzim).  Balak's  first  attempt  to  obtain  a  curse  from 
Balaam,  like  his  first  attempt  to  get  Balaam  to  come,  had  been 
unsuccessful ;  but  he  hoped  that  as  Balaam's  God  had  changed 
His  mind  before,  so  He  might  again.  Balak's  persistence  is  en- 
tirely explicable  on  the  analogy  of  the  widely  prevalent  custom 
of  persisting,  when  oracular  replies  or  omens  were  unfavour- 
able, till  they  became  favourable.*  This  view  of  the  inconstancy 
of  God's  purpose  is  not  shared  by  the  Hebrew  writer,  nor  attri- 
buted by  him  to  Balaam  (v.^^).  Balak,  on  the  other  hand,  is  led 
on  by  it  to  his  own  destruction:  see  above,  p.  316. — Anotlier  place 
whence  thou  mayest  see  hi7n\  i.e.  Israel  (iJSin  coll.  sing,  suffix, 
see  26^^  n.).  From  the  site  on  which  the  first  utterance  had 
been  delivered  Balaam  had  seen  only  part  of  the  people  (22*^), 
now  he  is  to  see  Israel  without  restriction  ;  such  is  what  is 
obviously  to  be  expected,  and  what  the  present  sentence  im- 
plies. But  there  now  follows  a  qualification  (inserted  probably 
by  a  redactor),  stating  (but  with  more  emphasis)  that  Balaam 
is  now  to  see  exactly  what  he  saw  before,  viz.  a  part  only 
of  the  people — only  his  [i.e.  Israel's)  extremity  shall  thou  see, 
but  thou  shall  not  see  the  wJwle  of  him.  The  difficulty  pre- 
sented by  the  clause  may  be  best  appreciated  in  the  light  of 
the  desperate  exegesis  which  it  has  occasioned.  Thus  (i)  Keil 
interprets:  "only  his  extremity  dost  thou  see"  now  and 
here  on  Bamoth  Ba'al  (22*^),  whereas  from  the  next  place 
thou  shall  see  the  whole  people  ;  but  this  is  to  import  into  the 
text  all  that  is  most  crucial.     The  verbs  throughout  are  im- 

*  See,  e.g,,  Gardner  and  Jevons,  Manual  of  Greek  Antiquities,  255  f., 
260. 


350  NUMBERS 

perfects,  and  there  is  neither  adversative  conjunction  nor 
adverb  of  time  or  place  to  indicate  that  the  second  clause  of 
Balak's  speech  refers  to  something'  other  than  the  first.  (2) 
Equally  foreign  to  the  statement  of  the  text  is  Hengstenberg's 
explanation :  Balaam  is  to  see  a  part,  but  a  larger  part  than 
before.  The  difficulty  is  most  probably  due  to  redactorial 
activity.  Hengstenberg  (p.  105)  very  wisely  remarks:  "If 
Balaam  already  saw  the  whole  people  from  here  [the  field  of 
Sophim],  no  reason  can  be  discovered  why  Balak  subsequently 
took  him  up  to  Pe'or."  The  editor  felt  this,  and  inserted  the 
qualification,  betraying  his  hand  linguistically  also  in  the 
peculiar  use  of  DDN  (see  phil.  n.  on  22^^).*  The  sight  of  all 
Israel  dwelling  according  to  its  tribes  (24^)  is  thus  reserved 
for  Balak's  third  and  last  attempt. — 14.  Balak  accordingly 
takes  Balaam  to  the  field  of  Sophim  on  the  top  of  the  Pisgah, 
and,  as  before  (v.^^-),  makes  altars  and  offers  sacrifices.  The 
site  of  the  field  of  Sophim  is  uncertain,  for  the  top  of  the  Pisgah 
was  not  the  name  of  any  particular  peak  (21-*'  n.),  and  it  can- 
not therefore  be  inferred  that  the  outlook  from  the  field  of 
Sophim  was  that  described  in  21-°.  It  is  likely  enough,  how- 
ever, that  it  lay  far  away  from  Bamoth  Ba'al  (see  above,  p.  340  f. ), 
and  the  name  indicates  that  it  commanded  an  extensive  view  : 
it  is  the  field  frequented  by  the  'watchmen  (D^DV ;  cp.  e.g.  i  S. 
1416,  2  S.  1825-27,  2  K.  9",  Is.  528).— 15.  And  let  me  fall  in 
nvith  {Yahweh)  yonder]  the  suppression  of  the  object  is  curious. 
In  the  light  of  v.*  what  is  intended  is  clear. — 16.  Cp.  v.^^-. — 
17.  Cp.  V.8. 

IS.  l'?]  more  g'enerally  written  r\:h  (G.-K.  482)  :  but  see  Jud.  19",  2  Ch. 
25"!. — u?i3  abnormal  for  M2ij.  Various  views  as  to  the  significance  of  the 
punctuation  are  fully  discussed  by  Konig,  i,  357  f. — 15.  n3  .  .  .hd]  here 
.  .  .  there,  or  here  .  .  .  yonder;  so  somewhat  similarly  11^',  Ex.  2^^,  S 
omits  the  first  hd. — 16.  HI.t]  Cr  6  Qeh%  ;  so  also  some  MSS.  of  ]Q. 

18-24  (JE).  Balaam's  second  utterance. — This  is  consider- 
ably long'er  than  the  first,  consisting  of  22  lines  (11  distichs) ; 
the  greater  length  is  probably  in  part,  though  not  wholly,  due 
to  interpolation  (see  on  v.^^). 

Addressing  Balak  (v.^^),  Balaam  admonishes  him  that  God 
•  Di.,  Bacon,  CH. 


XXIII.   14-19  351 

does  not  chang-e  His  purpose  (v.^°),  and  consequently  he 
(Balaam)  cannot  recall  his  former  blessing:  (v.-").  He  then 
depicts  Israel's  freedom  from  trouble  (v.^i^),  its  happiness  in 
the  possession  of  Yahweh  (v.^i^.  22^^  ^^id  its  irresistible  attack 
on  its  foes  (v.^-*).  The  reason  for  this,  or  the  proof  of  Yahweh's 
presence,  is,  if  the  verse  be  original,  traced  to  Israel's  abstention 
from  magic  (v.^). 

IS  Arouse  thee  Balak  and  listen, 

Give  ear  unto  me,  son  of  Sippor  I 
^^  God  is  not  man  that  He  should  break  His  word. 

Nor  of  human  kind  that  He  should  repent : 

Is  He  to  have  promised  without  accomplishing, 

To  have  spoken  without  fulfilling  it? 
-°  Behold  to  bless  I  received  (instruction), 

That  I  should  bless  and  not  recall  it. 
^'  I  behold  no  misfortune  in  Jacob, 

I  see  no  trouble  in  Israel ; 

Yahweh  his  God  is  with  him, 

And  shouts  in  honour  of  his  king  In  his  midst. 
^  God  who  brought  him  forth  out  of  Egypt 

Is  for  him  like  the  *  glory'  of  a  wild  ox. 
2*  Behold  a  people,  like  a  lioness,  standing  up, 

And,  like  a  lion,  lifting  itself  up  ; 

It  lieth  not  down  till  it  devour  the  prey,  • 

And  drink  the  blood  of  the  slain. 
18.  Arouse  thee\  "  Rise  up  "  (RV.)  is  unsuitable,  since  Balak 
is  already  standing  (v.^'^).  Dip  is  really  pleonastic ;  cp.  Is.  32^ 
Gn.  13^^;  on  this  and  other  pleonasms,  see  Dalman,  The 
Words  of  Jesus,  20  ff. — 19.  Balak  hoped  to  change  Yahweh's 
disposition  (v.^^  n.) ;  Balaam  now  warns  him  that  God,  unlike 
men,  cannot  be  induced  to  break  his  word  of  promise  ;  he  does 
not  change  his  purpose;  cp.  i  S.  15-^  (cf.  v."- ^s),  Judith  S"^. 
He  has  decreed  that  Israel  is  to  be  blessed  (v.^o  22^2  238) ;  and 
blessed  Israel  will  therefore  be.  The  promise,  the  word  of 
God  is  no  matter  of  question  :  it  is  a  fact.  The  sentences  are 
not  double  interrogatives  (RV.) ;  but  the  interrogative  governs 
the  whole  sentence  (cp.  Is.  5*^).  Render  as  above  or,  shall 
he,  having  promised,  not  accomplish?  —  Son  of  man\  This  is 


352  NUMBERS 

the  only  instance  earlier  than  Ezekiel  (who  uses  it  some  90 
times)  of  QIN  p  in  the  singular.  There  is  no  evidence  that 
Ezekiel  adopted  the  phrase  from  the  Aramaic ;  *  on  the  other 
hand,  many  of  the  instances  of  the  corresponding-  phrase  in 
Aramaic  literature  are  somewhat  clearly  Hebraisms.!  The 
phrase  may  very  well  have  been  created,  if  necessary,  by  a  poet 
of  the  8th  or  9th  cent.  B.C.  who  wished  to  express  the  thought 
of  this  verse. — 20.  /  have  received  {nstnictio7i\  i.e.  it  has  been 
revealed  to  me ;  this  is  tersely  expressed  by  "Tinpp,  perhaps 
with  a  thought  of  v.^^  T'nnp^  '2^N  1\h :  Balak  took  Balaam  to 
curse  ;  but  in  vain,  for  God  took  him  to  bless.  The  connection 
is  still  more  suggested  by  S  U  (ad  benedicendum  adductus 
Slim),  but  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  point  ''^^W^. — 20b.  f^  is 
best  rendered,  And  if  He  [i.e.  God)  bless,  I  cannot  recall  it;  cp. 
Am.  i^^- ;  and  see  Driver,  Tenses,  §  149.  RV.  implies  question- 
able Hebrew.  But  v.^^  has  stated  the  unchangeableness  of 
God's  purpose,  v.^''*  that  that  purpose  is  to  bless  Israel ;  a 
hypothetical  statement  is  therefore  out  of  place  in  v.^^**.  This 
clause,  on  the  other  hand,  states  that  Balaam  is  not  going  to 
change  his  note :  he  blessed  before,  he  will  bless  again ;  and 
for  the  same  reason — because  Yahweh  thus  instructs  him. 
Read,  therefore,  with  S  G  "]"i3X  for  Ti31  and  render,  /  will  bless, 
and  will  not  recall  it',  or  with  We.  Iiasi  and  render  as  above. 
S  H*  C^  probably  paraphrase  from  the  present  text  of  |l^,  but 
they  make  Balaam  the  subject  throughout. — 21.  As  in  the  first 
utterance  after  explaining  that  he  is  about  to  bless  (v.^), 
Balaam  proceeds  to  describe  how  Israel  appears  to  him.  For 
with  S  we  must  read,  as  in  the  parallel  v.®  and  in  continuation 
of  the  ist  persons  of  v. 2°,  the  verbs  in  the  ist  and  not  with  P^ 
in  the  3rd  person  (nxix  .  .  .  t2''2X  (also  S)  for  ."INT  .  .  .  D''3n  ; 
nxiSS^  first  became  nsis^,  and  then  t3'3N  was  changed  to 
agree  with  it).:!:  In  any  case  Yahweh  is  not  the  subject  of 
the  verbs.  §     If  ?^  be  retained,  the  subject  must  be  the  cognate 

*  Von  Gall,  Bileam  Perikope,  z-j. 
t  Dalman,  TTie  Words  0/ Jesus,  234-241. 

%  Kuenen,  Th.  Tijd.  xviii.  507  n.  i  ;  VVe.  Comp.  350 ;  cp.  ^°. 
§  Hengst. ,  Keil,  Paterson.    Hab.  i^  is  at  least  as  much  in  favour  of  the 
ist  as  of  the  3rd  person  here. 


XXIII.  20,  21  353 

participle  understood,  i.e.  from  the  English  point  of  view 
the  indefinite  pronoun,  One  does  not  see  .  .  .  o?ie  does  not 
beJiold*  (Dav.  §  io8). — What  Balaam  sees  in  Israel  is  an 
absence  of  ps  and  i'cy ;  the  same  two  words  are  explained  in 
Hab.  i^  by  the  parallel  DDni  1C  destruction  and  violence;  cp. 
also  Ps.  go^*'  (RV.  labour  and  sorrow),  Job  5^;  very  clear  in- 
stances of  this  physical  or  material  sense  of  px  are  to  be  found 
in  Pr.  12-^  22^,  jcr.  4^^  (RV.  mischief,  calamity,  evil)',  ?D]}  is 
regularly  used  in  such  a  sense.  Most  recent  commentators,! 
therefore,  (with  ffir)  rightly  interpret  both  clauses  of  the  absence 
of  disasters  from  Israel ;  for  it  is  the  external  glory  and 
security  of  Israel  that  is  uppermost  in  the  poet's  mind,  if  not 
indeed  in  complete  possession  of  it  (if  v.^^  be  an  interpolation). 
But  px  has  also,  and  not  infrequently,  a  moral  significance 
(cp.  such  phrases  as  pS  Tid),  and  some  |  have  so  inter- 
preted it  here  {iniquity) ;  some  have  given  a  similar  mean- 
ing {perverse7iess)  even  to  Soy,§  though  no  clear  instance  of 
such  a  use  can  be  found  elsewhere.  Others  ||  make  the  words 
refer  specifically  to  idolatry :  note  the  use  of  pi<  in  Is.  66^, 
I  S.  15^. — Having  in  v.^^*  described  Israel's  happy  state  nega- 
tively, in  v.^^^  the  poet  proceeds  to  its  positive  aspect :  Yahweh 
is  with  His  people  (cp.  14*^  Is.  8^°;  CH.  130^"^),  and  the  shout 
of  triumph  and  welcome  with  which  the  people  were  wont  to 
greet  their  divine  King  (cp.  i  S.  4^,  2  S.  6^^)  is  heard  in  Israel. 
The  parallel  and  the  continuation  of  the  reference  to  God  in  v.^ 
are  in  favour  of  thus  understanding  the  king  to  be  Yahweh  ;  IF 
the  view  taken  by  others,**  that  the  human  king  of  Israel  is 
here,  as  in  24'^,  referred  to,  is  less  probable.  For  Yahweh  as  the 
King  of  Israel,  cp.  Dt.  33^  (though  some  there  also  take  pD 
of  the  earthly  king)  and  such  passages  as  Jud.  8^3,  i  S.  S'^, 
Is.  ^Z'^i  ^i^d  the  use  of  "I^»  {king)  as  a  divine  title  in  proper 

*  Oort,  Di.,  Stn,  Kautzsch,  Kon.  (324^;  cp.  G  H.  In  Het  Oude 
Test.  .  .  .  overgezet  (ed.  Oort)  the  reading  with  the  vbs.  in  the  ist  pens, 
singf.  is  adopted. 

t  Di.,  Oort,  Kue.  J  Hengst,  Keil,  Kalisch. 

§  S,  Rashi,  Ibn  Ezra,  RV.  ||  S  ;  cp.  E\v. 

H  e"^  (p.Tra  p.iD'pD  nr^i^i),  Hengst.,  Keil,  Kue.,  Di.,  Che.,  Str. 

**  Ew.,  Oort,  We.  {Prolcg.*  256),  Stade  {GcscJl  dcs  Volkec  Israel,  L 
»77)- 

23 


354  NUMBERS 

names  {NPjV.  pp.  115-120,  138-14S). — 22  (  =  24^).  God  is 
Israel's  strength  (or  glory),  whereby  He  bears  down  all  opposi- 
tion ;  directly  or  indirectly  stated,  this  is  the  meaning  of  the 
V.  It  can  bb  rendered  as  two  co-ordinate  sentences* — God 
[El)  is  bringing  them  [i.e.  the  Israelites,  or  reading  "him," 
i.e.  Israel ;  see  below)  out  0/ Egypt ;  he  (Israel)  hath  as  it  were 
the  tdaphoth  of  the  wild  ox.  This  represents  the  Exodus  as 
still  in  progress,  as  lasting  up  to  the  entrance  into  Canaan  : 
for  the  participle  in  an  independent  sentence  indicates  continu- 
ous action  (Driver,  Tenses,  135).  In  consequence  of  God's 
presence,  of  what  He  does  for  them,  therefore,  Israel  is  as 
irresistible  as  the  wild  ox.  This  is  directly  stated  when  the 
verse  is  translated  as  a  single  sentence ;  then  clause  a  is 
subject,  b  predicate,  and  the  participial  clause,  referring  to  the 
Exodus  as  past,  is  an  attributive  to  God;  so  rightly  (5  6eo^  6 
i^ayajojv  aurov';  i^  AlyvTTTou.j — "Thou  said'st,  Lo  a  people 
has  come  out  of  Egypt  [22^].  It  came  not  out  of  itself,  but 
God  brought  it  out  "  (Rashi).  —  The  wild  ox  (QS"l)  is  the  yimii  of 
the  Assyrian  inscriptions.  It  is  represented  on  the  Assyrian 
sculptures  as  a  huge  species  (now  extinct)  of  the  bovine  kind, 
and  was  hunted  among  other  large  game  by  the  Assyrian 
kings;  Tiglath-pileser  i.  [c.  iioo  B.C.),  who  claims  to  have 
slain  ten  male  elephants  and  nearly  100  lions,  also  writes, 
"  In  the  service  of  Adar  who  loves  me  I  slew  four  male  rimu 
...  in  the  desert  in  the  land  of  Mitani  and  in  Araziki  which 
was  before  the  land  of  the  Hatti,  with  my  mighty  bow,  my 
iron  arrow  (?)  and  pointed  lance."  J  With  the  Hebrews  it  was 
regarded  as  untameable  (Job  39^^')  and  dangerous  (Ps.  22"), 
and  is  suitably,  therefore,  used  both  here  and  in  Dt.  33^'^  of  a 
warlike  people  capable  of  bearing  down  all  before  it.  Cp.  "In 
my  manly  power  I  trampled  down  his  land  like  a  rf ;«?/."  § 
The  belief  in  the  existence  of  unicorns  was  widespread  in 
antiquity,  and  Haupt  is  inclined  to  revert  to  the  ancient 
interpretation  of  CNi  by  unicorn  ((5  fiovoKepai^).  But  the 
Hebrew   credited    the   DX"i   with    more    than   one    horn,    Ps. 

*  Heng-st.,  OorL  f  Cp.  5,  Z°,  Di.,  Cheyne. 

:  A'5.  i.  39- 

§  Shalmanescr's  IMonolith  Inscr.  col.  ii.  line  52  ;  A'Z?.  i.  167. 


XXIII.  22,  23  355 

2222(21)  *  'pi^jg  rneaning-  of  the  word  tdaphoth  is  obscure,  but 
probably  it  refers  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  horns  (cp. 
Dt.  33^'')  of  the  wild  ox,  its  most  conspicuous  and  formidable 
characteristic. — 23. — 

*  For  there  is  no  observation  of  omens  in  Jacob, 

^  Nor  divining-  by  lots  in  Israel : 

°  Now  can  it  be  said  to  Jacob  and  to  Israel, 

^  What  hath  God  done ! 
This  verse  presents  many  difficulties  both  in  itself  and  in  the 
connection  in  which  it  stands  ;  and  the  ambig-uity  has  been  un- 
necessarily increased  by  the  suggestion  of  impossible  meanings. 
For  example,  a  formerly  popular  interpretation  of  a  and  b  was, 
no  divination  prevails  against  Israel.j  But  the  words  used  (C'DO 
and  DDp)  signify  means  of  discovering  future  or  secret  things, 
not  magical  means  of  injuring  others ;  the  interpretation, 
moreover,  implies  an  improbable  use  of  the  preposition  3. 
This  interpretation  was  fully  criticised  by  Hengstenberg,  and 
has  seldom  been  suggested  since.  The  meaning  of  these 
lines  in  themselves  is  clear.  In  Israel  men  do  not  resort  to 
oracles  (DDp  obtained,  e.g..^  by  drawing  lots  with  arrows,  | 
Ezek.  2i-'^^-^2if.)j  Qj.  ^-Q  omens  (obtained,  e.g.^  by  watching  the 
play  of  light  in  water,  Gn.  44^- 15).§  The  two  terms  no  doubt 
stand  typically  for  all  similar  means  (such  as  are  indicated  at 
length  in  Dt.  i8^^^-)  of  obtaining  knowledge  of  secret  things  ; 
cp.  the  use  of  the  cognate  verbs  in  2  K.  ly^*".  Such  practices 
were  at  an  early  period  discountenanced  among  the  Hebrews 
(Ex.  22^^ ^is);  cp.   I  S.  28'^"^,  a  source  of  the  loth  or  9th  cen- 

*  See,  further,  on  the  re  em  the  art.  "  Unicorn  "  in  Hastings'  DB.  and 
EBL;  also  Driver,  Deut.  407  ;  Haupt  in  SBOT.  (Psalms,  Eng".  ed.  172  f.; 
A' umbers  (Heb.  Text),  58). 

t  Calv.,  Ew.  et  al.  (cited  by  Hengst.  and  Oort),  RV.  mrg. 

X  Commenting  on  Mohammed's  prohibition  of  ^LuiiJuj^  (from  the  same 

root  as  cop),  Beidiwi  (on  Koran  ^^)  says  that  it  had  been  customary  to  use 
three  arrows,  one  inscribed  with  "  m^  lord  commands  me,"  another  with 
"my  lord  forbids  me,"  and  another  blank.  If  the  blank  was  drjiwn, 
the  process  of  drawing  was  repeated  (viz.  till  a  clear  answer  was 
obtained). 

§  See,  further,  on  both  words,  Driver,  Dexit.  223-225  ;  \V.  R.  Smith, 
J. Ph.  xiii.  273  ff.,  xiv.  w^,^- 


35^  NUMBERS 

turies  B.C.) ;  but  they  continued  to  be  practised,  as  the  laws 
of  H  (Lev.  19^^  20^--'^)  and  D  (Dt.  i8^*^*-)  and  other  references 
suffice  to  show  (Is.  26  32  819,  Hos.  412,  Mic.  36^-  n,  Jer.  2f  29S, 
Ezek.  i3^^',  Is.  44^,  Zech.  10-).  Balaam,  according  to  a  parallel 
narrative  (24^  J),  himself  employed  such  means.  The  con- 
nection between  lines  a,  b  and  c,  d  has  been  differently  regarded ; 
certainly  the  best  and,  if  possible,  a  quite  satisfactory  view,  is 
that  which  is  thus  expressed  by  Kuenen,*  who  refers  to  Am.  3'', 
' '  the  poet  reckons  it  among  the  advantages  of  Israel  that,  when- 
ever it  is  fitting,  God  causes  to  be  announced  what  He  intends 
to  do.  .  .  .  Other  peoples  may  have  recourse  to  augurs  and 
soothsayers,  Israel  is  told  what  the  future  shall  bring  them 
forth."  But  for  this  sense  the  verb  in  the  last  clause  should 
certainly  be  impf.;  and  the  absence  of  any  adversative  particle, 
the  unemphatic  position  of  '*  to  Israel,"  the  necessity  of  making 
ncx^  v\rt\x2\\y  —  shall  he  said  by  God,  i.e.  revealed  through 
prophets  or  others,  and  of  giving  nyiJ  an  unparalleled  sense, 
all  render  the  proposed  interpretation  improbable.  In  the 
absence  of  any  satisfactory  connection,  the  most  probable  con- 
clusion is  that  the  lines  (which  are  of  a  clumsy  character)  are 
an  exclamation  that  has  found  its  way  from  the  margin  into 
the  text.  nyD  (line  c)  in  the  light  of  the  parallels,  Jud.  13-^21—, 
if  we  must  not  in  both  these  cases  rather  read  nny  'D,  and  in 
any  case  on  the  analogy  of  DV3,  must  mean  7ww ;  IDN^  means 
either  ca7i  be  said  (Driver,  Tenses.,  §  37),  or  is  woni  to  be  said 
(cp.  21-^  ;  Dr.  §  33) ;  PNitJ'v,  either  io  or  of,  concerning  Israel 
(cp.  e.g.  Jud.  9^*) ;  nn  either  that  which  or,  as  an  exclamation, 
it  may  be  almost  equivalent  to  quanta ;  7J/'3,  instead  of  being 
pointed  as  a  pf.  could  be  pointed  as  a  part,  '^i'3  or  as  a 
noun  ^VS  (Wobersin,  35  n.  i) ;  but  neither  would  justify 
Kuenen's  interpretation  given  above.  The  choice  between 
these  various  ambiguous  renderings  must  depend  on  the 
view  taken  of  the  context  and  the  connection.  But  if  a  con- 
nection within  the  v.  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  establish, 
the  connection  of  the  v.  with  the  surrounding  context  is  even 
more  so.  Not  to  lay  stress  on  the  fact  that  we  should  expect 
the  assertion  of  God's  presence  in  Israel  (v.^^^-)  to  be  followed 
•  Cp.  HcngsL,  Keil 


XXIII.  24  ZS7 

by  the  effect  (v.-*)  and  not  prosaically  by  its  proof  (''3  *  v.-^), 
v.2^  (even  admitting"  the  interpretation  of  the  whole  verse  dis- 
cussed above)  cannot  naturally  be  made  the  proof  of  v.-^^-. 
Some  intrusion  in  the  text  has  therefore  been  very  generally 
recognised.  Some  f  suppose  v. 2-  interpolated  here  from  24^. 
But  the  connection  of  v.^^  with  v.^^  is  not  essentially  better 
than  with  v.^^.  On  the  other  hand  the  sequence,  v.^^'-  (God's 
presence  in,  and  the  strength  thus  given  to,  Israel),  v. 2*  (Israel's 
consequent  irresistibility),  is  excellent.  V.^^  is  therefore  best 
regarded  as  an  interpolation. J  Then  v."3ab  maybe  a  prose 
commentator's  erroneous  explanation  of  v.-^'^  (We.),  or,  less 
probably,  inserted  in  anticipation  of  24^  (Di.). — 24.  In  conse- 
quence of  Yahweh's  presence  (v.^^'-),  Israel  is  like  a  lion  proudly 
taking  its  prey.  The  metaphor  reappears  in  a  slightly  different 
form  in  24^^-  •,  For  similar  metaphors  elsewhere,  see  Gn.  49^-  ^7, 
Dt.  3320. 

18.  irjs  133]  the  old  nom.  ending  as  in  lya  m  24'-  ^'  ;  px-ir.-n  Gn.  i-"*  (P) 
and  elsewhere;  D'D  ^y]3D  Ps.  114®;  G.-K.  90  n.  ;  Kon.  iii.  268*.  The 
instances  must  be  regarded  as  archaisms ;  almost  all  occur  in  the  later 
literature. — 19.  cnx-p  .  .  .  b"n]  for  the  parallelism  cp.  2  S.  7",  Jer.  491'^-  ^^ 
5o'»«  51^,  Ps.  80I8,  Job  358.— nam)  Dr.  Tenses,  §  132.— 20.  TY^]  S,  but  unneces- 
sarily, ina*?.  —  21.  i^D  nvnn]  Che.  proposes  'd  mxen  =  the  glory  of  the  king 
(cp.  ffi  rk  ivSo^a  dpx6vTCi}v),  i.e.  "  the  visible  presence  of  Yahweh,  symbolised 
and  represented  by  the  ark "  (cp.  Ps.  78^'). — 22.  nsyin]  also  24*,  Ps.  95^, 
Job  22-*'-:  the  meaning  of  this  word  was  early  lost  (cp.  the  Versions),  and 
it  can  hardly  be  claimed  to  have  been  rediscovered.  Something  like 
Jieights  seems  required  in  Ps.  95* ;  and  the  word  is  so  rendered  there  by 
^  SilB.  This  meaning  might  be  poetically  given  here,  the  heights,  i.e.  the 
lofty  horns,  of  the  wild  ox ;  but  it  quite  fails  to  explain  the  nsym  f]D3  of  Job, 
which  gave  the  Versions  much  trouble  (ffi  iren-vpcofxivov  ;  H  coacervabitur  ; 
Si  — JuJ_0-»Q-K»).  Here  and  in  24*  the  Versions  differ  ;  ffi  gives  56Ja  ;  S 
U  (jo  strength.  The  meaning  height  has  been  precariously  supported  in 
modern  times  by  a  reference  to  the  Arabic  ^^=to  ascend.  Cheyne 
rejects  nsvin  from  the  Hebrew  vocabulary  and  proposes  mxan  (cp.  ffic) :  it 
is  unlikely  that  rnxsn  stood  both  here  and  in  the  preceding  v.  (see  last  n.). 
—23.  Syfj]  of  the  great  deeds  of  Yahweh  :  cp.  Dt  32=^,  Hab.  i»,  Job  zf^ 
and  often. — 24.  kb-jd']  16' n. 

•  It  is  hazardous  with  RV.  and  Bacon  to  avoid  (so  far)  the  difficulty 
by  translating  'd  surely  ;  see  BDB.  s.v.  '3  \e. 

+  Oort,  Kue. 

X  We.,  Di.,  von  Gall  (p.  30  f.) ;  Bacon  and  CH.  consider  both  v.^  and 
v.^^  as  interpolated. 


358  NUMBERS 

25  (E).  Balak  brings  his  engagement  with  Balaav.!  to  an 
end. — If  Balaam  will  not  curse,  at  any  rate  he  shall  have  no 
further  opportunity  of  blessing  ;  this  alone  can  be  the  meaning- 
of  Balak's  words,  Thou  shalt  7ieither  curse  him  nor  bless  him  ; 
in  other  words,  Balak  has  done  with  Balaam.  The  difficulty 
would  not  be  appreciably  diminished  by  translating  with 
Hengst.,  thou  shalt  indeed  not  curse  him,  but  thou  also  shalt 
not  bless  him  ;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  DJ  .  .  .  DJ  (after  a  nega- 
tive) means  neither  .  .  .  ?ior  (BDB.  p.  i6ga),  and  not  indeed 
.  .  .  but  also.  The  original  close  of  the  story  is  reached,  and 
all  that  needs  to  be  added  is  a  statement  that  Balaam  de- 
parted ;  this  may  be  found  in  24^^  transferred  to  its  present 
position  of  necessity  by  the  compiler  of  the  composite  story. 
But  inasmuch  as  the  editor  wished  to  incorporate  Balaam's 
utterances  in  J,  he  composed  an  introduction  to  what  forms, 
in  the  composite  story,  the  third  utterance,  partly  from  j's 
own  narrative  (24^^-  and  perhaps  23-*),  and  partly  by  repeating 
appropriate  details  from  the  foregoing  narrative  of  E  [p.-^-^^-  ^^f-), 

26-XXIV.  2  (JE).  Introduction  to  Balaam's  third  utterance 
—26.  Cp.  v.  12  2220.-27.  Cp.  v.13.— 27ba.  Cp.  24I ;  and  for  hw^ 
22^. — 28.  Cp.  v.^*. — To  the  top  of  the  Pear  which  looketh  out 
(!lP'_"3n)  over  the  Jeshimo7i\  cp.  21-^  (J),  the  top  of  the  Pisgah 
•which  looketh  out  over  the  Jeshi7non.  The  similarity  is  suspici- 
ous, and  some  *  consider  that  the  Pisgah  originally  stood  here, 
and  was  replaced,  when  J  and  E  were  combined,  by  the  Peor 
to  obtain  a  variation  from  v.^^.  In  this  case  both  J  and  E 
make  the  Pisgah  the  scene  of  one  of  the  utterances  of  Balaam, 
E  adding  the  precise  spot.  A  mountain  of  the  name  of  Pe'or 
is  not  mentioned  elsewhere  in  OT.;  but  there  are  places  of  the 
names  Beth-pe'or  and  Baal  Pe'or  in  the  neighbourhood  in 
which  the  Israelites  are  represented  as  encamped  at  this  time  ; 
and  in  the  time  of  Eusebius  an  opo<i  ^o'ycap  existed  near  Shittim, 
and  on  the  ascent  from  Livias  to  Heshbon.f  The  name  does 
not  exist  now,  and  the  mountain  referred  to  by  Eusebius  cannot 
be  identified.     See,  further,  Driver  m  EBi.  563  f. — 29  f.  =  v.^^-. 

XXIV.  1  f.  (J).  Balaam,  seeing  that  Yahweh  was  determined 

*  We.,  Bacon,  C  and  B. 

t  La  garde,  Onotn.  213^'*'  :  cp.  also  232""  292-  300^ 


XXIII.  25-xxiv.  2  359 

to  bless  Israel,  does  not  trouble  to  observe  omens,  but,  turn- 
ing to  the  wilderness,  and  seeing-  all  Israel  encamped  below 
him,  falls  under  the  influence  of  Yahweh's  spirit  and  (v.^^) 
utters  his  verses.  —  Ife  weni  not  to  vieet  omens  (□''ti'm,  cp. 
23^3  n.)  as  time  tipon  tiine  he  had  done.  The  phrase  DpDn 
DyD3  is  used  of  several  immediately  preceding-  successive 
occurrences  {e.g.  i  S.  3^°),  or  of  successive  occurrences  con- 
stitutingf  a  general  custom  or  habit  {e.g.  i  S.  20-^).  If  it  is 
used  in  the  former  way  here,  it  refers  to  previous  observation 
of  omens  by  Balaam  during  his  visit  to  Balak  ;  if  in  the  latter, 
to  his  general  custom  in  his  profession  of  curser  and  blesser 
(22^).  In  either  case  the  phrase  indicates  a  change  of  source 
from  c.  23  ;  for,  in  his  former  utterances,  Balaam  does  not 
seek  omens  (see  on  23^) ;  and  had  the  writer  wished  to  remark 
that  Balaam  did  not  follow  his  usual  custom,  he  would  have 
stated  this  before  the  first,  not  merely  before  the  third,  utter- 
ance. If  the  phrase  be  taken  in  the  former  sense,  previous 
utterances  in  J  must  have  been  suppressed  by  the  editor;  but 
if  in  the  latter,  we  may  here  have  the  immediate  sequel  of 
2237  (39)  (23-^).  The  phrase  might  have  been  suppressed,  but 
is  less  likely  to  have  been  added  (Bacon)  by  an  editor ;  and  its 
presence  vindicates  the  whole  v.  for  J  against  Di.'s  reference,  of 
it  to  R.  Cp.  the  use  of  Dl'Dn  now.,  this  time,  which,  in  the 
Hexateuch,  is  confined  to  J  (CH,  62). — Towards  the  wilder- 
ness\  usage,  especially  in  the  Hexateuch,  suggests  as  the  most 
obvious  meaning  for  this  the  wilderness  lying  E.  of  Moab, 
"  the  wilderness  "  (lanJDn)  being  used  especially  of  the  wilder- 
ness of  wanderings  {e.g.  c.  14,  passim),  including  the  wilderness 
on  the  E.  of  Moab  and  Ammon  {e.g.  21^^-  -2,  Jud.  ii—).  If  this 
be  the  meaning  here,  as  Dillmann  supposes,  the  scene  in 
J  is  not  the  same  as  in  E.  But  if  the  traditions  should  be 
harmonised,  the  wilderiiess  is  that  part  W.  of  the  Dead  Sea 
called  in  22^  (P)  'Arboth-Moab. — 2.  And  the  spirit  of  God  came 
(\nm)  upon  him]  cp.  i  S.  ig-^-  -^  and  (with  n^JV  instead  of 
iT'n),  e.g.,  Jud.  I4'^-  ^^,  i  S.  lo''-  ^^.  On  his  journey  the  divine 
communication  was  preceded  by  omens  (the  behaviour  and 
speech  of  the  ass) ;  now  without  any  such  preparation  (v.^) 
Balaam  receives,  or  rather  becomes  the  vehicle  of,  the  divine 


360  NUMBERS 

communication  by  falling-  into  an  ecstatic  state ;  contrast 
the  way  in  which  the  communications  are  recorded  in  E's 
narrative,  23^-  ^^  ;  24^^  (J)  is  rather  different.  For  the  resting 
of  the  spirit  on  men,  cp.  ii2iff-  (n.) ;  that  the  Hebrews  did 
not  themselves  regard  such  an  experience  as  limited  to  them- 
selves is  also  implied  in  Gn.  41^. 

3-9  (J).  Balaam's  third  utterance. — The  text  of  this  poem 
is  much  more  corrupt  than  is  that  of  the  two  that  precede. 
And  this  is  probably  why  this  poem  does  not  now,  like  the 
others,  consist  entirely  of  distichs.  It  contains  at  present  9 
distichs  and  2  tristichs  (4  and  8  c  de).  The  Versions  afford  com- 
paratively little  help  for  the  restoration  of  the  true  text,  but 
conjecturally  some  of  the  difficulties  can  be  overcome.  The 
following  translation  depends  on  some  conjectural  emendations. 
3  The  oracle  of  Balaam  the  son  of  Be'or, 

The  oracle  of  the  man  .  .  . 
^  The  oracle  of  him  that  heareth  the  words  of  God  (El), 
Who  seeth  the  vision  of  the  Almighty  (Shaddai), 
Fallen  down  (?),  and  having  the  eyes  uncovered. 
^  How  beautiful  are  thy  tents,  O  Jacob, 

Thy  dwellings,  O  Israel, 
^  Like  far-stretching-  valleys. 
Like  gardens  by  the  river  side. 
Like  '  cedars  '  which  Yahweh  hath  planted, 
Like  '  poplars '  beside  the  waters. 
'  *  Let  peoples  tremble  at  his  might, 
And  his  arm  be  on  many  nations  ' ; 
And  let  his  king  be  higher  than  .  ,  • 
And  his  kingdom  be  exalted. 
s  God  who  brought  him  forth  out  of  Egypt, 
Is  to  him  like  the  '  glory '  of  the  wild  ox : 
Let  him  devour  nations  his  adversaries, 
[And  break  their  bones,] 
And  shatter  his  oppressors. 
®  He  has  crouched,  he  has  lain  down  like  a  lion, 
And  like  a  lioness,  who  dares  stir  him  up  ? 
Every  one  that  blesseth  thee  is  blessed, 
And  every  one  that  curseth  thee,  accursed. 


XXIV.  3,  4  3^1 

3  f.  Balaam  introduces  himself:  combined  with  the  fact  that 
the  poems  in  c.  23  contain  no  such  introduction,  this  is  another 
indication  that  we  have  passed  to  another  source  (see  above, 
p.  309). — 3.  Cp.  2  S.  23^ ;  one  of  the  passag'es  must  be  dependent 
on  the  other.  This  and  the  next  poem,  2  S.  22^  and  Ps.  36- 
(possibly  corrupt)  are  the  only  passag^es  in  which  2N3  (//jg 
oracle)  is  used  before  any  other  than  a  divine  name  ;  the  usag^e 
thus  constitutes  a  remarkable  dissimilarity  between  Balaam's 
poems  and  the  discourses  of  the  Hebrew  prophets  who  very 
frequently  employ  the  phrase  f/ie  oracle  of  Yahiveh  or  the  like. 
The  description  of  Balaam  (pyn  ^0^')  '^^  '^•^^>  ^^ft  untranslated 
above,  has  been  variously  rendered:  (i)  who  sees  ir^ily*  (Cc 
6  akrjO Lvoi'^  opoov) ;  (2)  or  whose  eye  is  closed,^  generally  inter- 
preted to  mean  whose  bodily  eye  is  closed  (in  distinction  from 
hath  the  eyes  uncovered  in  v.*,  which  refers  to  spiritual  vision) ; 
(3)  whose  eye  is  open,\  which  leaves  v.^  tautologous.  Of  these 
the  first,  if  the  two  words  be  divided  differently  (Pi^  '^'fi^lr' ; 
We.  Comp.  350),  is  intelligible,  but  unnatural  (lit.  whose  eye  is 
perfect) ;  both  (2)  and  (3)  rest  on  a  very  insecure  philological 
basis  (see  phil.  n.) ;  (2)  is  also  over-subtle.  The  Hebrew  lan- 
guage was  quite  capable,  when  there  was  need,  of  distinguish- 
ing between  ordinary  human  and  superhuman  vision  (Job  10**). 
It  is  hazardous  to  base  on  a  phrase  so  uncertain  as  the  present 
any  speculations  as  to  the  manner  in  which  a  seer  received  his 
communications  from  God;  for  such,  see  Hengst.  p.  137  ff.; 
Konig,  Offenharnngsbegriff  des  ATy  ii.  95!?". — 4.  This  v.  at 
present  constitutes  a  tristich,  whereas,  with  but  one  other  pos- 
sible exception  (in  v.^),  the  whole  poem  is  in  distichs.  It  may 
originally  have  consisted  of  two  distichs  (cp.  v.^*').  S  reduces 
it  to  a  single  distich  by  omitting  1.  i. —  Who  sceth  the  vision  of 
the  Almig]ity\  i.e.  who  is  accustomed  to  see  (nTn%  Dr.  Tenses., 
32  f.) ;  Balaam  describes  himself  as  one  who  is  in  the  habit 
of  receiving  communications  from  God.  The  divine  name 
Shaddai  is  not  used  in  the  poems  of  the  preceding  chapter ; 

•  In  addition  to  ffi,  cp.  2^°  ('jri  TEBi-i),  We. 

t  U,  Hengst.,  Keil,  Oort,  Di.,  Str.,  various  Jewish  authorities  cited 
by  Rashi,  RV.  text 

X  5,  Ew.,  Konig,  Kalisch  (p.  231  f.),  RV.  marg.     Cp.  C  ^""J". 


362  NUMBERS 

©  S  do  not  distinguish  it  here.  The  antiquity  of  the  name  is 
proved  by  the  occurrence  in  Gn.  49^.  The  use  of  Shaddai  by 
Itself  is  almost  confined  to  poetry ;  here  it  seems  to  be  used 
simply  as  a  synonym  for  God  [El)  in  the  preceding-  line. — 
The  last  line  of  the  v.  begins  in  MT  with  ?SJ,  which  may  be 
rendered  falling  down,  or  (cp.  Jud.  3-^,  i  S.  5^*-)  fallen  down. 
It  has  been  differently  interpreted  :  (i)  fallen  dow?iy  i.e.  on 
his  bed,  or  In  sleep ;  *  then  the  clause  refers  to  the  fact 
that  Balaam  saw  his  visions  and  received  his  communica- 
tions by  night;  cp.  22^^  (E).  The  idea  is  natural  enough, 
but  by  no  means  naturally  expressed.  In  Ex.  21^^  3DtJ'D'? 
defines  the  meaning  of  ^33.  (2)  Fallen  down  in  awe;  t  cp., 
though  the  verb  is  there  used  with  a  defining  phrase,  Ezek.  i-"^ 
and  often,  Jud.  13^°;  {^fallen  ^(jww  under  the  overpowering 
(cp.  Is.  8^S  Ezek.  3^^)  influence  of  the  spirit ;  \  but  i  S.  19% 
which  is  cited  in  favour  of  this  Interpretation,  is  a  bad  parallel ; 
for  the  reference  there  is  to  the  physical  exhaustion  following 
on  the  completion  of  the  prophetic  frenzy,  whereas  here  the 
phrase,  standing  where  it  does,  must  refer  to  the  state  during 
the  communication  of  the  divine  will.  None  of  these  inter- 
pretations are  acceptable,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suspect  the 
text,§  though  no  satisfactory  attempt  to  recover  the  original 
has  been  made.  5  f.  The  fair  sight  of  Israel's  tents  pitched 
below  him  lead  Balaam  to  apostrophise  the  people,  and  to  com- 
pare them  to  large  and  fertile  tracts  of  country,  and  to  strong 
and  flourishing  trees  ;  in  doing  this  the  poet  is  not  unmind- 
ful of  the  fertility  of  the  land  in  which  Israel  is  to  settle. — Thy 
dwellings^  is  merely  a  synonym  for  thy  tents  in  the  parallel  line  : 
cp.  Cant.  i^. — 6a.  Literally,  like  valleys  that  stretch  themselves 
out;  cp.  the  use  of  n^j  of  long  shadows  in  Jer.  6*.  MT. 
rightly  points  Dvn:i)  not  '33,  for  the  translation, ||  as  valleys  are 
they  {i.e.  the  tents)  spread  forth,  would  destroy  the  symmetry  of 
the  four  lines  of  the  verse,  each  of  which  consists  of  an  object 

*  (&  (iv  Cirpcii),  S;",  Ibn  Ezra. 

t  Konig-  {Offenharungsbegriff,  ii.  99) ;  cp.  JJT  Jonandjer_ 
X  Heng-st.,  Keil,  Oort,  Di.,  Str. 

§  We.   Comp.  350  (where  the  suggestion  made  on  p.   112,  that  7BJ  is 
Niph.  part,  of  '?'?£3,  is  withdrawn). 
II  Hengst.,  Keil,  RV. 


XXIV.  5-7  3^3 

of  comparison  and  a  defining  clause.  For  similar  reasons  it  is 
better  to  reject  a  translation  recently  proposed,*  Like  spread- 
ing palm  trees  are  they  stretched  out  (Dvru  =  Ar.  J.^j  = 
palm  trees). — Like  gardens,  etc.]  Israel,  enjoying-  Yahweh's 
favour,  is  like  a  well-watered  garden  (Is.  58^^) ;  when  that 
favour  is  withdrawn  the  people  are  like  a  waterless  garden 
(Is.  i^''). — The  comparisons  with  tracts  of  countries  (v.''"^)  are 
followed  in  the  next  distich  by  comparisons  with  trees.  The 
last  two  lines  of  the  v.  in  MT.  read — 

Like  ahdlim  which  Yahweh  hath  planted, 

Like  cedars  beside  the  waters. 
Cedars  do  not  grow  beside  water ;  f  but  they  are  referred  to 
elsewhere  as  planted  by  Yahweh  (Ps.  104^'^) — a  poetical  indica- 
tion of  their  majestic  size  and  strength.  It  is  probable,  there- 
fore, that  the  terms  of  comparison  in  the  two  lines  have  been 
accidentally  transposed.  J  The  ahalim  are  generally  said  to  be 
aloes  {)£N.  lign-aloes) ;  but  elsewhere  aloes  (Dvrii^  or  DVnx,  Pr. 
7^'^,  Ps.  45^,  Cant.  4^*)  are  mentioned  along  with  other  fragrant 
substances  (myrrh,  cinnamon,  cassia),  and  what  is  alluded  to 
is  clearly  the  fragrant  wood,  not  the  tree  itself.  The  aloe  tree, 
indeed,  was  not  a  familiar  object  with  the  Hebrews  :  it  was  a 
native  of  S.E.  Asia,  whence  the  wood  was  exported.  §  But 
would  a  Hebrew  (or  even  a  Mesopotamian)  writer  have  re- 
ferred, in  a  connection  like  the  present,  to  a  tree  with  which 
neither  he  nor  his  readers  were  familiar?  Cant.  4^*  (even  if 
the  tree  and  not  the  wood  be  there  intended)  is  different. 
Either,  then,  some  other  tree  was  originally  intended  by  this 
word  or  it  is  corrupt;  Di.  suggests  Wyn  =  pahns,  but  the 
meaning  is  questionable.  Cheyne  proposes  W^'iV  =  poplars ; 
cp.  Is.  44*,  Ps.  137^. — 7.  Abandoning  the  apostrophe  (to  return 
to  it  in  v.^'J),  Balaam  now  speaks  of  Israel  in  the  third  person. 
The  last  two  lines  of  the  v.  celebrate  the  glory  of  the  Hebrew 
monarchy:    in  MT,  these  are  preceded  by  two  obscure  lines 

•  Perles  in/g>A'.  xi.  688  ;  adopted  in  BDB.  p.  636J. 

t  See  Post's  art.  "  Cedars  "  in  Hastings'  £)B. 

t  Cheyne  in  Exp.  Times,  x.  401. 

§  See  the  Bible  Dictionaries,  esp.  £Bt.  s.z>.  "Aloe." 


364  NUMBERS 

which  are  most  generally  interpreted  either  directly  of  the 
fertihty  of  Israel's  land,  or  as  a  fig'ure  of  Israel's  prosperity 
sug'g'ested  by  scenes  in  agricultural  or  settled  life ;  by  others 
they  are  explained  as  referring  to  Israel's  posterity.  The 
first  line  can  be  rendered, 

Water  floivs  (or  shall  flow)  down  from  his  pair  of  buckets. 
In  MT.  ^vT  is  a  dual,  and  therefore  means  either  his  pair  of 
buckets  or  (G.-K.  88e)  his  buckets  in  pairs.  The  word  can 
also  be  read  V^T  his  bucket.  The  line  may  be  explained  as 
depicting  Israel's  prosperity  under  the  figure  of  a  man  return- 
ing from  his  abundant  springs  with  water  dripping  over  from 
two  full  buckets  carried  over  his  shoulders.*  Still  figuratively, 
but  less  picturesquely,  the  general  sense  of  prosperity  would 
be  expressed  by  the  singular — water  flows  down  from  his 
bucket,  i.e.  he  is  rich  in  the  chief  blessings  of  life.  Less  prob- 
ably the  line  has  been  taken  literally  :  Israel's  land  is  rich 
enough  in  springs  for  him  to  be  able  therefrom  to  fill  his 
drinking-troughs  and  to  provide  his  house  t  (Gn.  24^^^-) — a 
very  roundabout  way  of  making  a  literal  statement :  ct.  (even 
In  poetry)  Gn.  272-^-  49^5,  Dt.  33^3;  also  Dt.  8^  \\^^.  In  Arabic 
as  in  Hebrew  (cp.  e.g.  Toy,  Prov.  1128".)  the  store  set  by 
water  has  given  rise  to  many  metaphors.  Hariri  thus 
describes  the  action  of  the  audience  after  being  moved  by 
Abu  Zayd's  sermon:  "Each  of  them  put  his  hand  into  his 
bosom,  and  filled  for  him  a  bucket  from  his  stream,  and  said, 
*  Use  this  for  thy  spending,  or  divide  it  among  your  friends  '  " 
(Chenery's  translation  of  the  MakCimat,  p.  m).  So  Chenery 
writes  in  his  note  (p.  283):  "  In  poetical  language  water  and 
moisture  are  almost  synonymous  with  benefit :  to  seek  bounty 
is  to  go  to  the  spring,  to  confer  it  is  to  fill  the  bucket  or  skin- 
bag  of  the  suppliant.  It  is  in  accordance  with  this  sentiment 
that  *  cloud '  has  in  Arabic  poetry  a  favourable  signification.  .  .  . 
The  prosperous  are  a  well-watered  meadow,  and  their  life  is  a 
moistened  one."  A  fourth,  but  certainly  Incorrect,  mode  of 
interpreting  the  line  is  to  take  it  as  a  metaphor  for  a  large 
posterity  \  (cp.  Is.  48^),  or,  perhaps  (?  Messianlcally),  of  a 
•  TTcngst.,  Keil,  DI.;  cp.  Kallsch.  t  I*^".,  Oort. 


XXIV.  7  3^ 


0 


single  descendant;  so,  e.g.,  (U*  i^eXevcrerat  avdpwirofi  ex  rov 
cnrepixajo'i  avTov,  where  av6pwiT0<i  is  probably  a  paraphrase 
for  water  and  airepfxa  for  hztcket. — The  second  line  is  much 
more  difficult,  and,  indeed,  really  defies  explanation.  As 
pointed  it  must  be  rendered, 

And  his  seed  is  i}i  many  waters. 
His  seed,  taken  metaphorically,  would  mean  tJie  seed  pro- 
duced by  Israel,  i.e.  Israel's  posterity,  and  then,  as  line  a 
states  the  prosperity  of  Israel  in  the  present,  line  b  should 
state  its  continuance  to  Israel's  seed ;  but  to  say  of  future 
generations  of  Israel  that  they  will  be  in  (3,  not  ^y  =  by,  as  in 
Ezek.  17*)  many  waters,  is  not  a  natural  mode  of  expressing 
their  possession  of  many  waters,  or  blessings.  Nor  can  the 
line  mean  that  the  seed  sown  by  Israel  will  be  always  so 
well  watered  that  it  is  in  water,  j  Had  the  writer  wanted  to 
express  the  thought,  which  often  enough  occurs,  that  Israel's 
land  was  well  watered  with  rain,  he  would  not  have  done  so 
in  such  a  ridiculous  manner;  Ps.  65^^'-  does  not  support,  but 
refutes  the  interpretation.  MT.  must  be  corrupt.  Ci  is 
unfortunately  paraphrastic  in  this  v.  (see  on  line  i),  and  its 
evidence  in  consequence  less  certain  with  regard  to  the 
original.  Still  for  what  it  is  worth,  it  supports  o''Cj?  (so  (JT) 
peoples  in  place  of  □"D  waters  (the  repetition  of  Q"'?:)  in  the  two 
parallels  is  certainly  suspicious) ;  iy"ll  Ms  seed,  can  just  as  well 
be  punctuated  U'"lt  /lis  arm,  of  which  €i's  Kvpievaei  (cp.  (!L° 
LIl^'J"')  may  be  a  paraphrase.     Then  we  obtain  the  line, 

His  arm  shall  be  upon  many  peoples, 
i.e.  Israel's  power  shall  be  felt  among  many  nations;  cp. 
(in  reference  to  God)  Is.  30^^^  48^^  (text?).  This  sentiment 
accords  excellently  with  the  general  tenor  of  the  poem,  but, 
if  admitted,  demands  a  parallel  entirely  different  in  character 
from  line  i  in  MT.  Something  is  required  such  as  is  furnished 
by  Cheyne's  emendation  adopted  in  the  above  translation  (irji^ 
'lb''n?0  ^12^  for  vbno  □''0  hv)  ;  n"t2\6  and  DVrj;  frequently  stand  in 
parallelism,  e.g.  Gn.  27-^,  Is.  17^^;  the  corruption  may  have 
been  facilitated  by  Vl^b  having  been  written  (in  the  undivided 

*  Also  5  ^TCC'D^NSVC). 

t  Oort,  Di.;  cp.  Rashi,  can  'J3  ■?$;  ynin  ywo.  and  then  cp.  Eccl.  it*. 


366  NUMBERS 

text)  for  D'OS^;  cp.  DIG  for  Dixn :  G.-K.  i9>^.  The  emended 
text  forms  a  good  introduction  to  lines  c,  d;  first  [a,  b)  the 
poet  dwells  on  the  fear  inspired  in  other  peoples  by  Israel's 
might,  then  on  the  renown  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy.  In  line 
c,  %^  runs,  JIz's  king  shall  he  higher  than  Agag;  for  this  ffir  S 
read  Ihan  Gog,  Cheyne  Ihan'Og.  Agag  would  be  just  possible 
if  the  poem  were  written  during  the  reign  of  Agag,  before  the 
destruction  of  the  'Amalekite  power  by  Saul  (i  S.  15);  but 
'Amalek  in  the  days  of  Agag  was  scarcely  so  formidable  a 
kingdom  as  to  justify  such  an  allusion.  Probably,  therefore, 
the  anachronism  which  the  mention  of  Agag  introduces  into 
the  text  is  due  to  a  textual  accident.  The  reading  Gog  (on 
which  see  Geiger,  UrscliHft,  366)  cannot  be  seriously  con- 
sidered, unless,  indeed,  the  poem  be  regarded  as  a  late  Messi- 
anic composition,  in  which  case  the  allusion  to  Gog  would  be 
suitable  enough  (von  Gall,  p.  35). — Sab.  Identical  (but  for 
the  variant  1S-S10,  DS'^lTlJO)  with  23"^.— 8cde.  A  tristich,  and 
as  such  in  this  poem  suspicious ;  see  on  v.*.  If  one  of  the 
lines  is  intrusive,  it  is  most  probably  d,  with  which  Mic.  3^ 
may  be  compared.  It  is  barely  possible  to  translate  the  last 
line,  And  with  his  arroivs  s?7iite  {tlieni)  through;  the  text 
is  probably  corrupt.  Emend  with  Di.  as  in  the  translation 
above  (V^^nh  for  V^^m),  which  gives  a  perfect  parallel  to  c ;  or, 
preferably  if  d  be  retained,  read  V^"^n  for  VlkH  *  and  translate, 
and  shatters  their  loins  (cp.  Dt.  33^^),  a  good  parallel  to  d. — • 
9.  In  v.^  Israel  has  been  tacitly  compared  to  a  beast  of  prey 
(■'^X)  to  whom  its  enemies  fall  victims  ;  he  is  now  compared, 
with  a  view  to  the  rest  that  follows  a  conquest,  to  a  lion 
resting  in  its  lair  whom  no  man  ventures  to  arouse.  The 
figure  to  some  extent  resembles  that  of  23^*  and  is  identical 
with  that  of  Gn.  49^^. — 9b.  Perhaps  a  current  saying  in  Israel : 
cp.  Gn.  27-^  (also  12^).  But  even  if  so,  it  is  effectively  intro- 
duced here  as  the  climax  of  the  blessing.  So  far  from  cursing, 
Balaam  will,  as  he  values  his  own  welfare,  bless  Israel. 

3.  DNj]  a  noun  of  the  form  "jut,  eJot  ;  Barth,  NB.  Sze. — pj;.T  cnc;']  For 
cr\v  =  to  open,  Mishnic  and  Talmudic  usage  is  cited  ;  the  word  is  very  rare, 
and  means  to  open  a  vessel:    cp.  'Abodah  Zarah  ^*;    Levy,  NHWiJrter- 

*  5,  Oort,  We.     For  other  suggestions  see  Di. 


XXIV.  S-I4  2i^7 

buc?!,  also  cites  K'S'ns'  KS^p  =  an  open  vessel,  from  Ab.  Zarahjerus.  V.  44c?,  and 
cn^",  no'nty,  iiC)DU  =  f/!e  aci  of  opening.  For  cnv  =  to  close,  reference  is  made 
to  the  similar  but  not  identical  roots  cno  {e.g.  2  K.  3'9,  Dan.  S^^,  and  written 

cnir  Lam.  38),  i<i.^,£D,   *li-J.     The  article  with  the  noun  of  the  part 

affected  in  such  combinations  as  j'vn  era  (Da v.  2^d),  is  not  usual ;  We's 
emendation  j'V  ncne'  gets  rid  of  this,  but  introduces  the  relative  o,  whicli 
is  not  elsewhere  found  in  these  poems.  If  adopted,  read  rather  W'J?. — 
6.  Doubtless  these  four  comparisons  in  a  strictly  accurate  and  g-rammatic- 
ally  regTilar  sentence  should  refer  to  the  Q'hr.»  and  m^co  of  v.*,  which 
are,  from  a  grammatical  point  of  view,  the  main  subjects.  But  the  thought 
dominant  in  the  poet's  mind  is  Israel,  and  it  is  Israel  who  is  referred  to 
in  each  of  the  comparisons. — 7.  N?!"]]  G.-K.  54c.  The  present  form,  unlike 
that  of  23^,  could  be  pointed  as  a  Niphal. — 8.  vsn]  RV.  assumes  an  ace. 
of  the  instrument  which  can  scarcely  be  justified.  The  ace  of  manner  or 
specification  (Dav.  70/")  is  different :  see,  however,  Ew.  283^  ;  Kon.  iii. 
332M.  The  vb.  f'nn,  judged  by  its  usage  in  Heb.  (  =  /o  shatter,  smash), 
would  not  be  suitably  predicated  of  arrows :  cp.  Paterson  and  Haupt's 
notes  in  SBOT. — 9.  There  are  slight  verbal  variations  from  Gn.  49"'',  viz. 
33B'  for  j'an,  and  nx  for  .tin.  For  'i.s-,  both  here  and  in  23*^  (the  only 
occurrences  in  the  Pent.),  S  reads  n-.y  :  but  see  Kunig,  ii'u  p.  157  o.  r. 

10-14.  Balak's  displeasure  and  Balaam's  apology. — 10.  Sub- 
stantially equal  to  23^^,  but  here  the  fact  of  Balak's  anger  is 
directly  expressed,  and  not  merely  indicated  by  his  speech. — 
He  smote  his  /lands]  as  a  sign  of  contempt  (Job  27^,  Lam.  2^^) 
for  a  magician  who  had  so  little  control  over  his  god  as  to  be 
unable  to  secure  a  reward  (v.^^). — 10b  verbally  =  23^^'',  except 
that  l^riNip  replaces  "iTinpb  and  the  phrase  t/icse  three  times  is 
added  (by  the  editor). — 11.  And no-jo  flee  (lb  ma,  cp.  Am.  7^-)  to 
thy  place,  cp.  v.^^. — lib.  Cp.  22^''-37. — And,  lo!  Yahiveh  hath  held 
thee  hack  {^V}lf^)from  honour\  cp.  22^'' n.  (I-'i'^n). — 12.  Cp.  22^^*. 
— 13.  =  22^^^  with  slight  variations. —  \V7iat  Yahtoeh  speaketh, 
etc.]  slightly  different  from  22^^  (R),  and  possibly  dependent 
on  the  idea  that  Yahweh  took  possession  of  Balaam  and  spoke 
through  him  ;  cp.  v.'^. — 14.  Balaam  is  quite  willing  to  go,  but 
before  doing  so  advises  Balak  unasked  what  the  Israelites 
will  do  to  Moab.  Balaam  now  speci.iUses  the  general  theme 
of  his  former  speech  (or  speeches),  that  Balak  may  be  under 
no  mistake  that  Moab  also  will  go  down  before  Israel :  /  tvill 
counsel  thee  (l^T^^),  almost  =  I  will  announce  to  thee,  tell  thee 
beforehand',  cp.  Is.  41^^44^^.  Jewish  interpreters  {^e.g.  Rashi) 
by  a  characteristic  piece  of  exegesis  find  in  this  word  the 


368  NUMBERS 

point  of  contact  with  the  story  in  31^^  (P),  and  recently  van 
Hoonacker  has  argued  at  length  for  this  view. — In  the  end  of 
the  days]  a  phrase  "  denoting  the  final  period  of  the  future  so 
far  as  it  falls  within  the  range  of  the  speaker's  perspective  " 
(Driver,  Deut.  p.  74,  which  see). 

10.  D-2i'3]  S  D''73T. — 13.  nm']  (S^P  S  S  +  '^N,  perhaps  under  the  influence 
of  22^,  though  this  kind  of  addition  is  common  in  the  Versions ;  cp.  e.g. 
22"  (5  S,  "  ffi,  30  5,  2.f  G  5,  »• '«»«  S,  ^  G.— 14.  'cyS]  G  Si  'mpc^  ;  cp. 

V."-25|tJ. 

15-19.  Balaam's  fonrtli  utterance. — The  theme  promised 
in  v.-^*  is  given  in  v.^''^ ;  it  is  followed  by  a  halting  and  prosaic 
statement  of  the  contrasted  futures  of  Israel  and  Edom  (v.^^), 
and  by  a  general  prophecy  of  Israelitish  dominion  and  suc- 
cess (v.^^).  Style  and  subject  alike  suggest  that  v.^^^-  is  not 
an  original  part  of  the  poem. 

^^  The  oracle  of  Balaam  the  son  of  Be'or, 

The  oracle  of  the  man  .  .  , 
^^  The  oracle  of  the  man  who  heareth  the  words  of  God 

(El), 
And  knoweth  the  knowledge  of  the  Most  High  ('Elyon); 
Who  seeth  the  vision  of  the  Almighty  (Shaddai), 
Fallen  down  (?),  and  having  the  eyes  uncovered. 
^"  I  see  him,  but  not  now ; 
I  behold  him,  but  not  near : 
A  star  hath  'arisen'  out  of  Jacob, 
And  a  sceptre  is  established  in  Israel ; 
And  he  smites  through  the  temples  of  Moab, 
And  the  '  skull '  of  all  the  sons  of  '  pride  '  (?). 

15.  See  v.^. — 16a  c  d ;  see  v.* ;  line  h  does  not  occur 
in  the  present  text  of  the  preceding  poem. — The  knoiuledge 
of  the  Most  High]  must  here  mean,  in  contrast,  e.g.,  to  Hos. 
4^,  what  God  knows ;  in  some  measure  (at  least  according  to 
later  thinkers)  God  imparts  what  He  knows  to  men  generally 
(Ps.  94^°,  Pr.  2^).  In  the  present  context  the  whole  clause 
means  that  Balaam,  as  another  writer  might  have  put  it,  has 
hearkened  in  the  council  of  God,  and  consequently  knows  what 
other  less  privileged  men  do  not  know  (Job  15^),  i.e.  he  has 


XXIV.  15-17  3^9 

gained  his  knowledge,  as  Ibn  Ezra  tersely  and  correctly 
comments,  by  prophetic,  not  by  magical  art  (n?  nxiD3  Ti"t2 
DDpn) ;  cp.  the  theory  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  Am.  3'^, 
Jer.  23^^-  ^^. — The  divine  name  'Elyon,  which  was  a  favourite 
one  with  some  of  the  later  writers,  occurs  elsewhere  in  the 
Pentateuch  only  in  another  song  (Dt.  32^)  and  in  Gn.  14 
(Cheyne,  Origin  of  the  Psalter^  83  f.). — 17.  The  prophet's 
vision  is  wholly  of  the  future ;  he  sees  Israel  not  as  it 
now  lies  before  him,  simply  menacing  Moab,  but  under  a 
mighty  and  illustrious  king,  actually  destroying  Moab,  i.e. 
depriving  it  of  Independence.  Previous  visions  have  reached 
forward  to  the  time  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy  (cp.  certainly 
v.'^),  but  have  also  contemplated  the  Israel  of  the  present. 
In  view  of  the  subject  as  announced  in  v.^^,  and  of  the  fact 
that  Israel  is  the  subject  of  the  other  poems  (cp.  23^  in  par- 
ticular), the  pronouns  in  a,  b  are  to  be  referred  to  Israel  * 
rather  than  to  be  treated  as  neuters  {illiid)^\  or  referred  by 
anticipation  to  the  star  or  king  \  whose  emergence  in  his- 
tory is  metaphorically  described  in  c,  d.  The  phrases  not 
1WW  and  not  near  (the  latter,  as  well  as  the  former,  being 
temporal ;  cp.  Jer.  48^^,  Ezek.  7'^,  Joel  i^^)  are  rather  pointless 
unless  used  to  contrast  the  Israel  of  the  future  with  the 
Israel  of  the  present, — A  star  hath  aj-iscn]  The  prophetic  pf. 
is  carried  on  in  d,  e  by  the  pf.  with  waw  consec. ;  see  Driver, 
Tenses,  14a.  The  verb  (l~i"i)  of  "^  Is  highly  questionable,  since 
it  regularly  means  to  tread  or  to  trample  on;  the  nearest 
parallel  to  the  present  usage  is  in  Jud.  5^1,  where  TIT  is  com- 
monly rendered  to  march ;  but  there  also  the  text  Is  corrupt. 
Read  mT.§  The  sceptre  (D3C)  was  one  of  the  insignia  of  the 
king  (Ps.  45'^,  Am.  i^-  ^  cp.  Gn.  49^°) ;  with  the  present 
metaphorical  use  of  star^  cp.  Is.  14^^^  where  the  Babylonian 
king  is  termed  "the  morning  star,"  and  Ezek.  32'',  where 
the  king  of  Egypt  is  implicitly  compared  to  a  luminary ;  In 
Rev.  22}^  JeSus,  the  offspring  of  David,  Is  termed  "  the  bright, 

•  Verschuir,  Oort. 

t  Rosenmiiller ;  cp.  Rashi  (inSnai  3pj?'  hv  mar  'jn  nxii). 
X  Heng-st. ,  Ibn  Ezra,  Keil,  Str. ,  Di.,  von  Gall,  Kaliscfi. 
§  So  We.,  Hanpt,  von  Gall ;  cp.  (S  S  F. 
24 


370  NUMBERS 

the  morning"  star " ;  and  in  Arabic,  where  the  cognate  word 
((._^S^^)  is  used  in  several  metaphorical  expressions  for  that 
which  is  pre-eminent,  the  prince  (*»i!\  ^Xa-)  is  termed   "the 

star  "  {Lisan-el-  Arahy  s.v.  e-^i  *0.  The  subject  of  lines  e,  f 
is  agfain  best  taken  as  Israel ;  they  describe  what  in  the  future 
time  Israel  does  to  Moab  (v.^*).  Israel  is,  as  often  (20^^  n.), 
referred  to  in  the  sing.,  and  all  the  more  appropriately  here, 
since  Moab  is  personified  (much  as  Israel  is  in  Is.  i^^'  ^)  as  a 
man  smitten  by  his  antagonist  through  his  two  temples  ^"^^^ 
dual).  For  other  interpretations  of  ^,  as  also  of  the  Hebrew 
text  of  f,  see  phil.  note :  the  above  translation  ofy  rests  on 
an  emendation  based  on  Jer.  48*^,  where  these  lines  are  cited. 
The  final  phrase  of  f  must  contain  a  synonym  for  Moab ; 
cp.  Jacohy  Israel  in  c,  d\  also  Edom,  Seir  in  v.^^.  The  sug- 
gestion in  the  translation  seems  the  least  hazardous  that  has 
been  offered ;  with  it  cp.  the  references  to  Moab's  pride  in 
Is.  16^  25^^,  Zeph.  2^**.  See,  further,  phil.  note.  The  specific 
reference,  if  any,  in  the  v.  cannot  be  determined  with  certainty; 
line  d  might  easily  be  interpreted  of  the  monarchy  as  a  per- 
manent institution  (cp.  Gn.  49^*^,  and  above,  v.'^),  but  the  star 
of  line  c  rather  suggests  a  specific  individual.*  Most  t  who 
have  adopted  an  individualising  (yet  non-Messianic)  interpre- 
tation have  seen  in  the  v.  a  reference  to  David's  conquest  of 
Moab  (2  S.  8") ;  but  in  view  of  the  testimony  of  the  conquered 
themselves  (Mesha''s  Inscr.)  a  Hebrew  poet  might  equally 
well  have  written  thus  of 'Omri's  exploits.  If,  however,  v.^^ 
were  original,  then  David,  as  the  conqueror  of  both  Moab  and 
Edom  (2  S.  8^^^-,  I  K.  ii^^*-),  would  alone  seem  to  satisfy  the 
reference. 

A  Messianic  interpretation,  though  obviously  uncalled  for,  was  early 
attached  to  the  words,  as  we  may  infer  from  R.  Akiba's  giving^  to  the 
pseudo-Messiah  in  the  time  of  Hadrian  the  title  Bar-Kokba,  son  of  the  star. 
Such  an  interpretation  is  found  in  <E°  ('^Nni^'o  Nnx'D  xann'i  3pj;'a  n^'^D  c\p- 1:) 
and  (CJ°",  but  not  in  the  Samaritan  Targ;.  (Cowley,  Exp.  1S95  (i),  173). 
From  Justin   Martyr  {Dialogjis  cum    Trjyphone,    106),    Irenasus    {Contra 

*  Among  those  who  interpret  both  c  and  d  of  the  monarchy  in  general 
are  Hengst. 

t  E.g.  Rash),  Ibn  Ezra,  Di. 


XXIV.   i8  371 

Hcsreses,  Vn.  9^),  and  Cyprian  [Testimonia,  ii.  10)  onwards,  the  Messianic 
interpretation  became  gfeneral  among-  Christian  interpreters  down  to  1771, 
when  it  was  challenged  by  Verschuir.  Subsequently  some  writers  have 
maintained  that  the  entire  outlook  (including-  v. ^8'')  is  only  satisfied  by  the 
inclusion  of  the  Messiah.  This  view  is  defended  at  length  by  Hengst. 
(172-181),  though  he  admits  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  Balaam  so  under- 
stood it  himself.  In  the  Christian  Messianic  interpretation  "the  star" 
becomes  a  prophecy  of  "  the  star"  seen  by  the  Oriental  Magi  (Mt.  z^-  ^^•) ; 
this,  probably  enough,  does  justice  to  the  meaning  of  the  evangelist, 
however  alien  from  the  intention  of  the  author  of  the  poem.  On  the 
history  of  the  interpretation,  see  Reinke,  186-204.  Recently  von  Gall 
(37  f.)  has  argued  in  favour  of  a  purely  Messianic  interpretation. 

17.  one']  CEr  fip^pwTros;  cp.  v.®  <&. — 'riNS  ]-nci]  Jer.  48^^  ntts  ^3Nni.  j'no 
demands  as  its  object,  if  not  persons,  at  least  parts  of  the  person  (e.g. 
heads,  loins).  Hence  the  diial  'rsg  must  be  the  two  sides  of  the  head, 
i.e.  the  tetnples,  the  full  phrase  in  prose  being  s;-nt  n.xD  (Lev.  19-^)  or 
D'JEJ  riNB  (Lev.  13*^);  but  the  word  is  used  by  itself,  as  here,  in  the  phrase 
riNS  ':iisp.  It  is  therefore  unnecessary  with  the  Versions  ((Er  ,S  iJ  5I^°)  to 
give  'riNS  a  unique  metaphorical  sense  {leaders),  and  unsuitable  (with,  e.g. , 
Hengst.  and  ?  RV.)  to  give  it  (after  fnn)  the  sense  commonly  borne  by  it 
oi  side  or  district  of  a  country. — -\7i'^^'\\  S  rightly  -ipipi  (cp.  Jer.  48^^  and  the 
parallel  'hkhj).  G  S  U  2^°  Symm.  render  by  various  verbs  of  different  signi- 
fications.    A  verb  is  no  doubt  intended  by  MT.,  and  that  the  same  that  is 

implied  in  the  textually  doubtful  passage  Is.  22'.  The  root  (y  r->  r-Of-^' 
and  New  Hebrew  '^P'^p)  is  used  of  sounds  made  by  men  and  animals  {e.g. 
to  cry,  roar) ;  in  certain  post-biblical  passages  (Levy,  iv.  391 5)  "ipnp  is  also 
used,  apparently  as  a  denominative  from  Tp,  with  the  meaning  to  break 
down, — a  sense  which,  though  wholly  unsuitable  to  the  object,  has  been 
commonly  adopted  here  by  those  who  retain  ]tj ;  so  Hengst.,  Ges.  {Thes.  ; 
cp.  also  Gesch.  d.  Hebr.  Sprache,  §  12,  p.  37),  Kon.  (i.  456  f.). — t\v  »j3  ^:] 
ns"  being  taken  as  the  name  of  Adam's  son  ((Sr  S  U  AV. )  (Gn.  4^),  the 
phrase  was  interpreted  all  men  or  all  nations  (3^°  Rashi).  Sayce 
{E.vp.  Times,  xiii.  69)  understands  it  to  mean  the  Bedawin,  who  were 
known  to  both  Egyptians  and  Babylonians  as  "Sutu."  But  most  have 
regarded  nz'  as  an  appellative,  and  explained  it  as  =  nNp',  which  occurs  in 
Lam.  3'''t,  and  is  supposed  to  have  the  same  meaning  as  [inb'  Jer.  48^-' 
(Verschuir,  Hengst,  Oort,  Di.,  Reuss,  RV.).  The  sense  thus  yielded 
{sons  of  tumult)  is  not  inappropriate  (cp.  Am.  2-) ;  but  it  is  by  no  means 
clear  from  the  context  in  Lam.  3''''  that  nNZ*  actually  meant  tumult.  It  is 
preferable,  therefore  (unless  Jer.  48^  be  adopted  as  the  better  reading), 
to  treat  nc  as  =n^-^=pride;  cp.  We.  Comp.  351. 

^3  And  Edom  shall  become  a  possession, 

And  Se'ir,  his  enemies,  shall  become  a  possession, 
While  Israel  is  gaining  success. 

This  inartistic  tristich,  the  more  noticeable  after  the  previous 


372  NUMBERS 

succession  of  distichs  (v.^""^'^),  falls  outside  the  scope  of 
Balaam's  farewell  oracle  (v.^*),  and  is  apparently  the  first  of  a 
number  of  brief  prophecies  (directed  against  various  peoples) 
which  at  some  time  or  other  have  been  attached  to  Balaam's 
last  words.  The  general  sense  of  the  v.  is  :  the  Edomites, 
the  enemies  of  Israel,  will  become  the  subjects  of  the  Israel- 
ites, while  the  latter  pursue  their  victorious  career.  This  is 
very  awkwardly  expressed,  and  Reuss  may  be  right  in  thinking 
that  **his  enemies"  (va''t?)  is  the  remnant  of  an  otherwise 
lost  line ;  see  also  von  Gall  (38  f.). — Seir\  is  here  parallel  to 
Edom,  as  in  Jud.  5*;   S  G  read  Esau,  cp.  Ob.  v.^,  Mai.  !-"■*. 

^^  And  may  dominion  be  exercised  out  of  Jacob, 
And  survivors  be  destroyed  out  of  cities. 

The  verbs  of  MT.  are  transitive  C^i.'."!  and  T^NHI) ;  the  subjects 
must  be  indefinite,  for  the  last-mentioned  subject  [Israel,  v.^^), 
in  view  of  the  clause  out  of  Jacob,  is  unsuitable,  and  Edom-Seir 
is  manifestly  out  of  the  question ;  nor  is  it  natural  to  pass 
back*  over  v.^^  to  the  ruler  alluded  to  in  v.^'^,  even  supposing 
that  the  ruler  and  not  the  people  is  the  main  subject  of  that 
v.,  and  that  v.^^  formed  originally  part  of  the  same  poem  as 
v.^'^.  The  verse  appears  to  be  a  general  expression  of  such 
Messianic  hope  as  is  met  with  especially  in  the  later  pro- 
phecies :  it  contemplates  the  world-wide  dominion  of  Israel 
and  the  violent  destruction  of  all  who  oppose  it  (cp.  e.g.  Mic. 
5^,  Is.  60,  especially  v.^^,  Zech.  12^).  The  details  are  natur- 
ally obscure :  of  line  b  two  interpretations  alone  need  be 
mentioned:  (i)  may  those  who  have  escaped  or  fled  from 
the  open  covmtry  before  the  conqueror  to  the  cities  (TV  col- 
lective, as  perhaps  in  Ps.  72^*^,  Job  24^^)  for  refuge  (cp.  Jos. 
10^°)  be  destroyed ;  or  (2)  TV  is  the  city  of  the  ruler,  viz. 
Zion  (cp.  Kon.  iii.  2941?') :  then  "i''j/'D  is  strictly  parallel  to 
3pJ?n3  in  line  a.  Ewald  is  so  confident  that  this  second  is  the 
right  interpretation  as  to  find  in  the  verse  a  proof  of  Judasan 
origin  of  the  oracle  (Jahrb.  f.  Bibl.  Wissensch.  xi.  202).  If 
v.^'^  be  closely  connected  with  v.^^  "i"'y  may  be  the  chief  city  of 
Edom,  or  collectively  all  the  cities  of  Edom. 

•  With  Kcil. 


XXIV.  19,  20  373 

18  f.  Von  Gall  reconstructs  these  verses  thus — 

nc'T  DiiN  n-m 

This  is  preferable  at  least  to  the  similar  but  less  complete  reconstruction 
in  SBOT. — 18.  "y'l;]  so  pointed  here  only,  and  here  S  has  nciT  ;  in  ^\  the 
more  frequent  nf-j;  is  indistinguishable. — 19.  T\.i\  apoc.  impf.  from  mn  (as 
Ps.  72^).      This  is  preferable  to  TV],  (one)  shall  come  down  (S  E°  and  ?  (5). 

20-24.  Fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  utterances. — These  pro- 
nounce the  fate  of  'Amaiek  (v.-'^),  Kain  (v.^"-),  and  some 
other  people  or  peoples  (v.^^^-).  They  are  distinguished  from 
the  four  preceding-  by  their  great  brevity,  so  far  as  the  fifth 
and  sixth  are  concerned  by  an  additional  introductory  phrase 
(.  .  .  til^l  aud  he  sazv  .  .  . :  yet  cp.  v.^  22"*^  23^^),  and  by  contain- 
ing no  reference  whatever  to  Moab  or  anything  but  at  the  most 
an  implicit  reference  to  Israel.  Their  position  here  is  strange 
in  view  of  the  terms  of  v.^^.  Partly  on  these  grounds,  partly 
on  the  ground  of  specific  references,  a  different  origin  has 
been  attributed  to  these  final  oracles  by  almost  all  modern 
scholars. 

So  Di.,  Reuss  {Gesch.  der  HS.^  p.  214),  Kon.  {Einl.  208),  Corn.  {Einl.^ 
63),  We.  (Comp.'^  113;  cp.  361),  De  Wette-Schrader  (^m/.^  p.  293),  Kue., 
Bacon,  Che.,  Addis  {EBi.  464),  Kalisch,  van  Hoonacker,  CH.  Oort 
maintained  the  unity  (p.  82ff. );  but  in  Het  Oude  Test,  opnieuia  overgezet 
(ed.  Oort)  the  verses  are  regarded  as  an  addition. 

The  interpretation  of  these  brief  oracles,  therefore,  must 
not  be  governed  by  the  assumption  that  they  originated  at 
the  same  time  or  under  the  same  circumstances  as  the  longer 
ones  which  precede.  Unfortunately  their  brevity,  combined 
with  several  strange  and  suspicious  features  in  the  text,  renders 
anything  approaching  certainty  in  the  interpretation  out  of 
the  question.  The  present  text  is  in  some  places  unintel- 
legible.  Some  alternatives  might  be  ruled  out  if  the  date 
could  be  independently  established,  but  it  cannot. 

20.  And  he  saw  'Amalek]  hardly  in  vision  (cp.  v.^^),*  but 
rather  as  he  had  previously  seen  f  in  whole  or  in  part  the 
hosts  of  Israel  {22*^  23^^  24^);  so  in  v. 21,  But  the  phrase, 
•  Hengst.,  Ew.,  Keil.  f  Di. 


374  NUMBERS 

unlike  the  following,  and  he  took  up  his  discourse  and  said, 
forms  no  part  of  the  regular  introductory  formula  prefixed  to 
the  preceding  oracles  (23^-  ^^  24^-  ^^).  On  the  resumption  of  the 
shorter  formula  in  v.^^  see  below.  It  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  infer  that  the  writer  or  editor  thought  of  the  'Amalekites 
as  resident  or  wandering  E.  of  Jordan,  for  views  of  the 
Negeb,  to  which  other  references  refer  the  'Amalekites  (13^* 
j^43. 45^  J  s_  20),  were  supposed  to  be  obtainable  from  points 
on  the  Pisgah  (Dt.  34^). 

First  of  the  nations  is  (was)  'Amalek ; 

But  his  last  shall  be  (is)  unto  destruction. 
There  are  no  verbs,  and,  consequently,  not  even  the  slightest 
indication  of  tense.  First  of  the  nations  (D"''iJ  TT't^'S"!,  also  Am. 
6^1)  means  i7iost  choice  (cp.  i  S.  is^S  Am.  6^,  Job  40^*^),  and 
here  apparently  viost  power/til  of  the  natiojis :  such  'Amalek 
never  was  nor,  so  far  as  is  known,  was  it  ever,  while  it 
existed,  so  accounted;  but  later  legendary  or  fictitious  narra- 
tives of  ancient  Arabic  authors  described  the  'Amalekites  as 
a  mighty  race.*  The  expression  is  partly  due  to  poetic  ex- 
aggeration, partly  to  the  desire  for  a  verbal  antithesis  to 
the  ominous  parallel  (lIT'ins).  The  implicit  allusion  to  the 
power  of  'Amalek  in  v.^  is  textually  uncertain.  The  alter- 
native rendering,  the  beginning,  i.e.  the  most  ancient,  of  the 
nations,  is  against  the  analogy  of  Am.  6^,  conflicts  with  Hebrew 
theory  (Gn.  36^^),  and  is  certainly  not  to  be  supported  by  the 
corrupt  passage  i  S.  27^  (where  read  D^tOD  for  D^yo).  Assum- 
ing the  Mosaic  authorship  of  the  verse,  some  {e.g.  Keil)  have 
explained  the  phrase  to  mean  the  first  nation  who  fought 
against  Israel  (Ex.  if'^-). — His  last\  innnN' ;  see  23^°  n.  ;  the 
future  of  'Amalek  in  contrast  with  Israel's  future  (23^")  will 
be  destruction :  the  Hebrew  expression  is  very  strange  (cp.  phil. 
n.),  though  perhaps  in  these  harshly  expressed  and  obscure 
verses  not  impossible.  Cheyne  proposes.  But  its  last  man 
Edom  shall  destroy  C?^^'  Q"'^.).  'Amalek  suff"ered  severely  at 
the  hands  of  both  Saul  (i  S.  15)  and  David  (i  S.  30),  and, 
according  to  the  Chronicler's  evidence,  was  exterminated  in 
the  time  of  Hezekiah  (i  Ch.  4*2f.^  ^s  generally  Interpreted; 
.  *  Noldeke,  Die  Amoriter;  also  EBi.  i2Sf. 


XXIV.  21  375 

yet  see  HPN.  237).  Dt.  25^''^-  scarcely  proves  that  'Amalek 
was  still  a  power  of  importance  at  the  end  of  the  7th  cent. ; 
in  a  much  later  passage  (Ps.  83''^,  note  Gehal  as  defining-  the 
date)  'Amalek  is  presumably  used  for  contemporary  enemies 
of  Israel,  as  Greek  authors  of  the  6th  century  a.d.  used 
Scythians  for  the  Goths  (Nold.). — ^Judged  by  itself,  the  oracle, 
then,  may  be  a  prophecy  of  'Amalek's  destruction  while  as 
yet  its  power  was  unbroken  {i.e.  before  the  time  of  Saul), 
or  during  its  decline  (from  the  time  of  Saul  onwards),  or  a 
retrospect  (?  suggested  by  Ex.  17^^)  after  'Amalek's  destruc- 
tion. 

21.  With  line  a,  cp.  v.^o*. — The  Keniies  at  times  ranked 
as  a  branch  of  the 'Amalekites  (i  S.  15^;  and  see  Moore  on 
Jud.  i^*') ;  at  times  they  appear  most  closely  associated  and 
on  friendly  terms  with  Israel,  and  especially  Judah  (i  S. 
27^^  30-*,  Jud.  1^^  52*).  They  are  generally  associated  with 
the  Negeb,  though  some  at  least,  separating  from  the  main 
stock,  found  a  home  in  the  districts  of  the  Northern  Israel- 
itish  tribes  (Jud.  4"  5^^);  in  the  rhetorical  list  of  Gn.  15^^^- 
they  figure  among  the  peoples  of  Canaan  to  be  dispossessed 
by  Israel.  The  gentilic  form  the  Kenite  ^T"^}])  is  here  used 
collectively  as  in  i  S.  15^30^^;  but  in  the  poem  itself,  as  in 
Jud.  4^^,  the  national  name  Kain  (i^"5)  is  used.  In  Hebrew 
Kain  is  identical  in  form  with  Cain,  Adam's  son.  On  this 
identity  Stade  has  largely  based  a  number  of  interesting 
speculations  concerning  the  Kenites.* — Of  the  four  lines  of 
the  oracle  the  first  two  are  sufficiently  straightforward.  The 
third  is  the  same,  but  that  the  opening  conjunction  is  used  in 
an  extremely  rare  and  somewhat  suspicious  sense ;  out  of 
the  fourth  no  reasonable  meaning  has  ever  yet  been  legiti- 
mately extracted. 

2^^  Ever-during  is  thy  habitation, 

*•  And  placed  among  the  crags  thy  nest : 

'^  But  yet  Kain  must  be  destroyed  ; 

^  How  long  ?     Ashshur  shall  carry  thee  captive. 
a,  b  describe  the  Kenites  as  having  in  the  rocks  their  habita- 
tions, which,  being  inaccessible  to  enemies,  are  ever-during; 
*  ZATW.  1894,  pp.  250-318;  cp.  Cheyne's  art.  "Cain"  inEBi. 


2,^]^  NUMBERS 

cp.  Obadlah's  description  of  Edom  (v.^^).  In  Obad.  the  term 
nest  is  sugfgested  by  the  previous  figure  of  the  vulture :  here 
it  is  used  to  gain  a  paronomasia  {kiniieka  =  thy  nest:  Keni  = 
Kenite).  The  word  ever-during  (|ri\^)  is  used  especially  of 
perennial  water  (see  Am,  s^"*,  Dt.  2.\^  with  Driver's  note 
there) :  the  rendering  of  the  Versions  (G  S,  EV.),  strong,  is 
not  precise.  With  the  present,  cp.  the  similar  phrase  in 
Jer.  49^^^.  Lines  c  d  should,  in  accordance  with  the  general 
tenor  of  these  oracles  of  doom,  contain  a  transition  similar  to 
that  in  Ob.  v.^^- :  the  Kenites  think  themselves  unassailable, 
nevertheless  they  cannot  escape  the  destined  destruction. 
Either,  therefore,  DK  ""D  is  an  error,  or  the  conjunction  is 
used  here,  although  no  negative  has  preceded,  as  a  strong 
adversative  (BDB.  475«) ;  or  we  must  regard  line  b  as  a 
virtual  negative,  placed  in  the  rock  is  thy  nest,  and  therefore 
not  to  be  taken;  but  nevertheless  .  .  .  (Kon.  iii.  ZT^S)'  The 
text  of  d  can  only  be  translated  as  above ;  nn  l:,'  means  quite 
regularly  (Ps.  4^  74^  79^  S9*'^t)  Until  ivheii  P  How  long?; 
consequently  renderings  such  as  when  once,  tintil  are  illegi- 
timate. But  the  text  really  yields  no  sense:  Di.,  following 
others,  interprets  How  long?  sc.  will  it  last?  Ashshztr  will 
finally  carry  thee  captive,  and  so  make  of  thee  an  utter  end  ? 
But  though  to  us  Assyria  may  define  a  period  in  Hebrew 
history,  would  a  Hebrew  writer  define  a  future  period  in 
a  prophetic  saying  by  a  mere  reference  to  Assyria?  The 
truth  is  the  last  clause  is  no  reply  to  the  question,  How  long? 
The  text  must  be  more  or  less  corrupt ;  but  the  corruptions 
are  ancient,  for  the  Versions  indicate  no  real  variations. 

Cheyne  by  a  radical,  purely  conjectural  and,  therefore,  quite  uncertain 
emendation  gains  good  sense :  he  renders  the  last  line,  Edom  shall  heat 
in  pieces  his  d^velling  {t2v<a  ca'i'' q'm<).  Hommel  also  emends  though  less 
radically,  with  the  result  that  his  translation  labours  under  some  of  the 
difficulties  presented  by  the  traditional  text :  he  renders  the  last  two  lines 
thus  :  and  yet  Kain  shall  belong  to ' Eber  (lay'?  for  "ii'3'7) ;  and  how  long  will 
it  last?  Ashshur  will  carry  thee  (the  Kenite)  captive.  Hommel  under- 
stands Ashshur  to  mean  Shur  in  South  Palestine  (an  equation  that  cannot 
at  present  be  regarded  as  more  than  a  hypothesis).  Following  up  a 
suggestion  of  Wellhausen's  {Comp.^  351)  that  Kenite  may  here  mean 
Nabatsean,  von  Gall  (42f.)  explains  the  poem  with  reference  to  attempts 
of  the  Seleucid  empire  at  the  beginning  of  the  3rd  cent.  B.C.  to  subdue 


XXIV.  22,  23  377 

Se'ir ;  then  inj;  (so  read  for  "lyn  in  v.''^)  and  nirx  (  =  Syria)  are  terms  for  the 
two  halves  of  the  Seleucid  empire  separated  by  the  Euphrates. 

20.  12N  ny]  v.^*.  ny  is  a  form  of  nj;  used  mainly,  or  exclusively,  in  later 
poetry  (Is.  26^  65'^  Ps.  83'*  92^  104-*  J2212.  14  j^yS^  job  7-' 20') ;  it  also 
occurs  in  the  compound  'ly'^n.  ^5K  has  been  reg'arded  as  a  collective 
(cp.  nnc  in  v."*),  or  an  abstract  (Barth,  NB.  §  gSa  :  against  this,  see  Kon. 
iii.  243^) ;  then  the  phrase  means  literally  unfo  the  perishing  07ies,  or  unto 
destruction.  The  absence  of  a  vb.  in  this  line  is  almost  intolerable.  This 
was  felt  by  the  Versions,  which  seem  to  have  had  the  consonants  of  the 
present  text  before  them,  but  to  have  read  them  differently.  (5  (dTroXelTai, 
v.  2*  a.T(oko\jvTa.C)  paraphrases  ;  S  reads  ^a^?'  ly  ;  S  «  Vn\v\  .  .^*~>  ./ 
(v. 24  ^OriD"|j)  and  similarly  E^.— 21.  n'c)  Part,  pass.;  G.-K.  73/— 22. 
iiB-N  no  •vi\  S  iicxn  ny  ;  (S  (7rafoi;/>7ias)  read  no  iv  as  nmy. — intiTi]  fem.  with 
the  name  of  a  people  ;  cp.  e.g.  Ex.  12^,  and  see  G.-K.  122/?. 

23.  And  he  took  up,  etc.]  fflr  assimilates  this  introductory 
formula  to  those  of  v.^*^  and  v.^i  by  prefixing,  and  he  saw  Og 
((5^  Gog\  cp.  24'^  (5).  The  insertion  probably  depends  on 
2j33-35^  itself  a  late  editorial  interpolation.  Cheyne  and  Strack 
suggest  that  the  whole  introductory  formula  here  is  an  inter- 
polation, and  that  originally  v.^^"-'^  formed  a  single  poem. 

The  short  poem  contained  in  v.^^'-  can  be  translated  word 
for  word,  but  read  as  a  whole  it  is  most  awkwardly  and  un- 
naturally expressed,  and  there  is  little  probability  that  any 
interpretation  of  the  text  as  it  stands,  or  as  it  has  been  vari- 
ously emended,  reaches  the  original  meaning.  The  present 
text  scarcely  appears  to  be  satisfied  by  circumstances  earlier 
than  the  Greek  period ;  as  emended  by  Cheyne,  it  can  hardly 
be  later  than  the  Assyrian  period,  while  Hommel  so  emends  as 
to  make  it,  in  his  judgment,  a  suitable  product  of  the  age  of 
Moses. 

The  existing  text  may  be  translated  as  follows : — 

Alas !  who  shall  live  after  God  hath  appointed  him? 
But  ships  from  the  side  of  Kittim 
Shall  afflict  Ashshur,  and  shall  afilict'Eber; 
And  he  also  (shall  be)  unto  destruction. 

This  is  commonly  understood  to  mean :  How  terrible  will 
Assyria  be !  none  will  expect  to  escape  her  power !  yet  she  will 
perish  at  the  hands  of  the  Kittim.  After  God  hath  appointed 
ht'mP]  for  the  use  of  D^::'  to  appoint,  see  Is.  44'^,  Hab.  i^^;  and 


378  NUMBERS 

for  the  use  of  p  (In  1»K'n),  which  is  <* chiefly  late"  (BDB. 
5855),  see  Lev.  9--,  Is.  44'^,  Ps.  732'',  Dan.  ii^^.  The  suffix 
ki'm  is  generally  understood  to  refer  to  Ashshur  and  'Eber 
mentioned  in  the  next  v.  and  reg"arded  here  as  a  single  idea 
(cp.  v.2^  last  line).  The  suffix  might  be  treated  as  a  neuter,  zV 
((5  ravTo),  i.e.  who  shall  survive  when  God  appoints  what  is 
to  follow. — 24.  Sliips\  D''^is  used  in  this  sense  in  Is.  33^^,  Ezek. 
30^,  Dan.  \\^^\.  For  D"'in  S  reads  D''N>;i^  (cp.  ffi  i^eXevaerat) 
=  ihey  {shall)  co77ie  out',  S>  U  2C°  give  both  ships  or  troops  and 
a  vb. — Fro?7i  the  side  o/]  coast  (AV.)  is  an  archaism  (  =  cote). 
With  l^  =  sicle,  cp.  p2''  bm  T'  ^3  "all  the  side  of  the  Wady 
Jabbok"  (Dt.  2^7),  and  D'-T  mm  pN  =  "a  land  wide  in  both 
directions^'  \  see,  further,  BDB.  3905. — Kittini\  the  Heb.  D''^2 
or  D^;Jjl?  is  derived  from  Tia,  the  name  of  a  town  (in  Gr.  Kition) 
in  Cyprus  which  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Phoenician 
inscriptions.*  With  the  Hebrews  the  Kittim  ranked  as  a  son 
of  Javan,  i.e.  Greece  (cp.  'Jao^e?  = 'laFoi/e?  =  lonians) ;  see 
Gn.  10*.  It  agrees  with  this,  that  in  Is.  23^-  ^^  Kittim  appears 
to  mean  the  inhabitants  of  Cyprus.  In  Jer.  2^°,  Ezek.  27^, 
Kittim  is  used  more  widely  of  the  Western  maritime  nations 
("the  isles  of  Kittim,"  DTia  "'"'N).t  Later  it  is  used  with 
specific  reference  to  one  or  other  of  these  Western  nations ; 
Dan.  ii^°  refers  to  the  Romans,  as  ffir  rightly  perceived,  and 
1  Mac.  i^  8^  to  the  Greeks.  Both  Dan.  1 1^*^  and  i  Mac.  i^  appear 
to  allude  to  the  present  poem,  and  thus  show  how  it  was  under- 
stood in  the  2nd  cent.  B.C.  Cp.  the  rendering  of  the  phrase 
here  in  U,  venient  in  trieribus  de  Italia.  If  the  poem  be  as  old 
as  the  7th  or  8th  cent.  B.C.  "ships  from  Kittim"  may  mean 
ships  bearing  Cypriot  mariners. — As  the  text  stands,  the  first 
two  lines  of  v.-*  must  (as  in  the  above  translation)  form  one 
sentence  (not,  as  in  RV.,  two).  But  this,  though  grammatic- 
ally possible  (Driver,  Tenses,  §  1230:),  is  extremely  awkward; 
possibly,  unless  the  text  be  even  more  corrupt,  a  vb.  such  as 

*  See,  e.g.,  CIS.  10^  (other  references  in  Lidzbarski,  Nordsem.  Epigr. 
299  f.).  W.  Max  Miiller  {Asien  u.  Europa,  345)  suggests  another  origin  of 
the  name,  D'nD  =  Hittites. 

t  Cp.  Jos.  Ant.  i.  6^  (on  Gn.  10)  X4di/j.os  Si  XeOi/jA  ttjj'  vrjffot'  etx(v'  Kijirpos 
aSrr}  vdv  KaXelrai'  Kal  air  aiiTTjs  vrjaol  re  vacrai,  Kal  to.  vXelo)  rCiv  irapa  daXaaaav 
XeOifJ,  inrb  'E^paluv  ovo/jux^eTai. 


XXIV.  24,  25  379 

INi**  [shall  come)  has  dropped  out.  The  words  are  understood 
to  mean  :  the  Kittim  shall  overthrow  the  Assyrian  empire.  No 
overthrow  of  the  Assyrian  empire  by  the  Western  maritime 
peoples  is  known.  Various  unsatisfactory  solutions  of  the 
difficulty  have  been  offered  (see  Di.).  The  most  interesting- 
is  that  which  has  satisfied  alike  some  of  those  who  hold  the 
poem  to  be  a  prophecy  of  far  distant  events,*  and  some  t  who 
see  in  it  a  reflection  of  historical  events.  According"  to  this 
interpretation,  the  poem  refers  to  the  overthrow  of  the 
Persian  empire  by  Alexander  the  Great  (cp.  i  Mac.  i^) ;  in  that 
case  Ashshur  here  as  in  Ezr.  6"^^  means  the  Persian  empire. 
It  is  impossible  to  determine  the  precise  sense  of  'Eber  in 
this  obscure  poem ;  it  is,  however,  altogether  unlikely  that 
it  means  the  Hebrews  (G) ;  rather  than  this  the  country 
across  the  Euphrates  [W ;  cp.  Jos.  24^). — A7id  he  also]  as  in 
the  first  line,  Ashshur  and  'Eber  are  regarded  as  a  single  idea. 

The  obscurity  and  improbability  of  the  text  are  sufficiently  great  to 
invite  emendation  ;  unfortunately  the  corruption  of  the  text  is  more  ancient 
than  the  Versions,  and  emendations  must  be  conjectural  and,  consequently, 
uncertain.  Among-  the  most  interesting  is  that  of  D.  H.  Miiller  (Die 
Propheien  in  threr  urspriinglichen  Fonn,  i.  215  f.;  cp.  Cheyne,  Exp.  (1896) 
iii.  77  fF.)-  He  would  read  '^Ncra  for  ha  iccD,  and  point  "i^j;  instead  of  ^iv.  ; 
thus  the  first  line  becomes,  Alas!  ivho  can  survive  of  Sham  al,  and  v.^ 
foretells  the  destruction  of  Sham'al  at  the  hands  of  the  Kittim,  Assyria  and 
'Eber.  Sham'al  is  a  State  in  N.W.  Syria  mentioned  in  the  Assj^rian 
inscriptions.  Sayce  in  criticism  (Early  Hist.  p.  231  n.)  points  out  that 
Samalla  was  only  the  Assyrian  name  for  the  district,  the  native  names 
being  Ya'di  and  Gurgum.  The  proposed  interpretation  of  v.^**  is  altogether 
improbable. 

Cheyne's  emendation  {Exp.  Times,  x.  399)  is  far  too  h3'pothetical  to  be 
probable,  though  a  Hebrew  towards  the  end  of  the  8th  cent,  might  pos- 
sibly have  written  it.  Hommel  (Anc.  Heb.  Trad.  245fF.)  reads  D"n 
(jackals)  for  'D  '1N,  'jindli'D  (from  the  north)  for  '?«  lorc,  and  points  □".V  (wild 
cats)  instead  of  D*i'.  The  poem  then  becomes  a  prophecy  of  the  invasion 
of  Southern  Palestine  (Ashshur  =  Shur)  by  wild  cats  and  jackals,  i.e.  wild 
hordes  from  the  North  or  from  the  sea).  Whether  the  probability  of  this 
suggestion  is  as  great  as  its  ingenuity,  the  reader  may  judge  for  himself. 

25.  Balak  and  Balaam  both  leave  the  spot  where  they 
had  stood  together,  and  Balaam  returns  to  his  country  (cp. 
v.^^n.);   ct.  31^-.^'^.      For  the  phraseology,  cp.  Gn.  18^^32^. 

*  Delitzsch  (p.  121  f.)  and  Leibnitz  (as  cited  by  him), 
t  E.£.  Corn. 


380  NUMBERS 

XXV.  The  chapter  divides  into  four  sections  of  which  the 
last  three  are  closely  connected  with  one  another,  (i)  The 
Israelites  provoke  Yahweh's  anger  by  their  immoral  inter- 
course with  Moabite  women  and  by  their  worship  of  Ba'al- 
Pe'cr,  v.^"*.  (2)  During  the  progress  of  a  "plague"  (v.^'^-*-^; 
cp.  v.''^),  an  Israelite  brings  home  a  Midianite  woman ;  they 
are  taken  in  the  act  and  slain  by  Phinehas,  v.^"^  (cp.  v.^**-). 
(3)  For  his  zeal,  Phinehas  is  promised  through  his  seed  eternal 
possession  of  the  priesthood,  v.^°~^^;  (4)  for  their  wiles,  the 
Midianites  (cp.  v.^)  are  to  be  smitten  by  the  Israelites,  y.i^-is 
(cp.  c.  31). 

Section  (i)  is  a  fragment;  the  carrying  out  of  the  judicial 
executions  commanded  in  v.*^-  is  not  recorded.  Section  (2)  is 
also  a  fragment  lacking  the  commencement,  which  must  have 
related  the  outbreak  of  the  plague  and  the  assembling  of  the 
people  at  the  tent  of  meeting  (v.^'').  The  editor  may  have 
been  led  to  unite  these  really  heterogeneous  stories  by  the  fact 
that  both  referred  to  Israelitish  connections  with  foreign 
women. 

V.^~^  is  derived  from  JE  ;  v.®~^^  from  P  (though  not  entirely 
from  P'^).  The  motive  of  v.^"^  is  characteristic  of  JE;  here 
Yahweh  is  provoked  by  the  worship  of  other  gods  (cp.  Ex. 
^^14-10  2o3),  and  the  crime  is  punished  by  the  judges  (Ex.  18-^^). 
The  motive  of  v.''"^^  points  to  the  age  of  P ;  the  sin  is  inter- 
course with  foreign  women  (cp.  Ezr.  10) ;  it  is  punished  by  the 
priest.  The  same  motive  appears  elsewhere  in  P  (Gn.  26^^' 
28i-»). 

The  style  of  v.*"'*  clearly  points  to  P  ;  note,  inter  alia,  mj;  v.^'*  (cp.  i' 
n.) ;  ««TJ  V."-  "  ;  -cn"?  .  .  .  nam  v.'^-  "  (CH.  185) ;  najD  v."- !»  (cp.  14"  n.). 
In  v.'"',  as  particular  indications  of  JE,  note  m.T  r^H  nn'i  v.'(cp.  ii^  phil.  n.) 
and  .TI.T  f-x  p-.n  in  v.*. 

1-5  (J  E).  The  Israelites  are  seduced  into  the  worship  of  another 
god. — It  is  probable  that  the  editor  of  JE  has  here  combined 
elements  from  two  similar  stories  in  J  and  E  ;  for  v.'^  and  v.^ 
appear  to  contemplate  different  modes  of  death  (see  notes), 
and  in  v.^  clauses  a  and  b  have  the  synonymous  subjects 
{Israel,  the  people)  which  appear  elsewhere  as  a  result  of 
compilation  (14^  20^  n.). 


XXV.  I,  2  38 1 

Analysis  in  detail  cannot  be  carried  through  with  certainty.  V.^*  and 
v.^  obviously  go  tog-ether,  and  the  judges  of  v.^  may  point  to  E  (cp.  Ex.  iS). 
Then  v.*  came  (presumably)  from  J  :  with  v.^  cp.  Ex.  34^^  (J).  CH.  refer 
^.  la.  3a.  5  to  E,  and  v.i''-  '^'  2''-  *  to  J. 

In  one  account  (J)  the  Israelites  are  led  into  idolatry  by 
their  immoral  intercourse  with  the  Moabite  women,  but  the 
scene  and  the  name  of  the  Moabite  god  are  undefined  ;  in 
the  other  (E),  the  scene  is  Shittim,  the  god  is  Ba'al  Pe'or  ; 
but  the  circumstances  leading  up  to  the  idolatry  are  not 
given. 

1.  And  Israel  abode]  26^  2i-^-^^.  Israel  also  occurs  in 
y_3a.  4b.  5  .  q(-^  i]iQ  people,  vy°-  ^-  ^*,  and  the  children  of  Israel 
which  occurs  5  times  in  v.^~^^  (P). — In  Shitti7n\  the  name  (in 
Hebrew  with  the  art.)  means  the  acacia  trees.  From  Shittim 
Joshua  subsequently  despatched  the  spies  (Jos.  2^  3-  JE).  In 
33*^  the  place  is  mentioned,  under  its  fuller  name  Abel-Shittim, 
as  the  last  station  of  the  Israelites,  and  as  situated  in  the 
steppes  of  Moab.  Hence  25^**  is  the  parallel  in  JE  to  22^  in 
P.  The  exact  site  of  Shittim  is  uncertain  ;  but  it  appears  to 
be  identical  with  Abila,  which  derived  its  name  from  the  first 
part  of  the  full  name,  and,  according  to  Josephus  [Ant.  iv.  8\ 
V.  i^),  was  situated  60  stadia  from  the  Jordan.  Some  have 
suggested  the  identification  of  Abila  with  Kefren.*  But  in  any 
case  Shittim  lay  in  the  country  which,  according  to  E's  narra- 
tive, was,  at  the  time  of  the  Hebrew  invasion,  occupied  by  the 
Amorites,  who  had  wrested  it  from  the  Moabites.  Consequently, 
either  the  intercourse  of  the  Israelites  with  the  Moabite  women 
was  located,  in  the  source  whence  v.^^-  ^  is  drawn,  far  south  of 
Shittim,  or  this  source  represented  the  Moabites  as  living  at 
the  time,  whether  in  full  occupation  of  the  country  or  as  a 
subject  people,  N.  of  the  Arnon. — 2.  And  they  called  the  people 
to  the  sacrificial  feasts  of  their  go d\  Participation  in  the  sacri- 
ficial feasts  is  the  sequel  to  the  intimacy  with  the  women,  not 
the  cause  of  it,  as  the  incorrect  rendering  of  i^ipm  in  RV.  ("for 
they  called  ")  suggests.  The  women  not  unnaturally  summon 
their  paramours  to  their  feasts,  which,  according  to  ancient 
custom,  were  sacrificial  occasions ;  in  partaking  of  the  feast 

*  Buhl,  Geng.  116,  265. 


382  NUMBERS 

the  Israelites  honoured  the  god  (cp.  e.g.  Dt.  1 2^  ^- ^''~^'',  Ex. 
24^^,  Jud.  9"^).  The  god  thus  honoured  is,  presumably, 
Kemosh,  the  national  god  of  Moab  (21-'');  the  plural  (inTibx), 
which  could  be  rendered  their  gods  (RV.),  is  used  of  Kemosh 
in  Jud.  II-'*,  I  K.  11^^;  a  single  deity  is  clearly  intended  in 
v.^-  ^,  where  it  is  named  Ba'al  Pe'or.  It  would  have  been  quite 
in  accord  with  the  sentiment  even  of  the  Israelites  at  an 
early  period  to  worship  Kemosh  on  his  own  territory  (cp. 
e.g.  1  S.  26^^).  The  worship  is  here  condemned,  because  the 
writer  either  considered  that  the  territory  in  question  had 
already  become  Yahweh's  by  right  of  conquest,  or  had  dis- 
carded the  doctrine  that  Yahweh  might  only  be  worshipped 
in  his  own  land.  The  recollection  of  their  nomadic  life  may 
have  served  to  keep  alive  and  develop  a  larger  view  of 
Yahweh's  activity ;  in  the  ark  or  His  angel  Yahweh  accom- 
panied the  people  from  place  to  place  and,  being  in  their 
midst,  demanded  that  they  should  worship  no  other  god  (Ex. 
24^*  20^). — 3.  The  Baal  of  Peor\  the  title  resembles  a  number 
of  divine  titles  found  in  Phoenician  inscriptions  and  in  the  OT., 
some  of  which  have  become  by  abbreviation  names  of  places  ; 
thus  Ba'al  Me'on,  originally  a  divine  title,  is  also  used  as  the 
name  of  a  place,  being  in  that  case  an  abbreviation  from  Beth 
Ba'al  Me'on.  The  second  element  in  these  divine  titles  is 
commonly,  though  not  exclusively,  a  geographical  term ; 
examples  are  the  Ba'al  of  Me'on,  the  Ba'al  of  Judah,  the 
Ba'al  of  Lebanon  {CIS.  i.  i),  the  Ba'al  of  Mt.  Hermon.  Since, 
then,  Pe'or  ("1J?3  =  ^o'^wp)  occurs  by  itself  as  the  name  of  places 
(23^,  Jos.  155°^-  ffit,  Gn.  36^^  ffi,  Lagarde,  Onom.  Sacra,  300*), 
it,  too,  was  probably  in  the  first  instance  a  geographical 
name,  and  its  meaning,  even  if  it  were  clearer  than  it  is,  could 
cast  no  light  on  the  nature  of  the  cult  of  Ba'al  Pe'or.  The 
nature  of  that  cult  must  be  inferred  from  the  known  character 
of  the  cults  of  the  local  Ba'als  who  were  worshipped  as  the 
beneficent  sources  of  fertility,  with  agricultural  festivals  and 
often  with  immoral  rites :  see  especially  Hos.  c.  2.  As  the 
Israelites  identified  the  various  local  Ba'als  with  Yahweh,  so 
the  Moabites  may  have  identified  Ba'al  Pe'or,  whose  cult  was 
probably  enough  more  ancient  than  their  settlement  in  the 


XXV.  3-5  383 

country,  with  their  national  god  Kemosh.  See,  further, 
Driver  on  Dt.  4^;  W.  R.  Smith,  Religion  of  the  Semites,- 
94  ff.;  Gray,  Hebrew  Proper Na?nes,  124-136.  The  illegitimate 
worship  of  Ba'al  Pe'or  is  frequently  alluded  to;  see  31^^,  Hos. 
gio,  Dt.  4^  Jos.  22^7,  Ps.  io62^;  cp.  i  Cor.  lo^.— 4.  Take  all  the 
heads  of  the  people  and  execute  (?)  them  for  YaJiweh  before  the 
suii\  S  Command  that  they  slay  all  the  vien  that  joined  them- 
selves unto  the  Baal  of  Peor.  S  is  a  violent  attempt  to  get 
rid  of  a  difficulty  rather  than  a  genuine  variant  of  the  original 
text.  As  '^  now  runs,  it  can  only  mean  that  all  the  chiefs  of 
the  people  are  to  be  executed;  S  recasts  this  so  that  the 
actual  offenders  suffer.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  fusion  of 
sources  has  accidentally  caused  the  pronoun  them  (anx)  to 
refer  to  the  chiefs,  whereas  in  the  original  source  it  referred 
to  the  actual  offenders  (Di.),  or  possibly  to  selected  repre- 
sentatives. Early  Hebrew  morality  did  not  require  the 
actual  offender  to  expiate  a  crime  (2  S.  2i^~^).  The  exact 
mode  of  execution  intended  is  uncertain.  But  it  is  scarcely 
hanging  (RV.),  for  which  the  Hebrews  used  another  word 
(n^n).  (5  renders  the  word  here  used  (ypin)  by  frapahei'yiJba- 
TLaov ;  similarly  S  ;  and  Di.  argues  for  the  meaning  expose, 
make  an  example ;  but  it  is  not  satisfactorily  derivable  from 
the  established  usages  of  the  root.  W.  R.  Smith  {Rel.  of  the 
Semites,^  398)  suggested  cast  them  down',  cp.  Ar.  wakaa, 
to  fall  down,  and  atikda,  to  cause  to  fall  down.  The  verb  is 
used  of  an  execution  in  only  one  other  OT.  passage ;  accord- 
ing to  that  the  execution  takes  place  on  a'  hill ;  as  a  result  of  it 
the  executed  persons  fall  down  (l^D""!),  and  subsequently  their 
bones  are  collected  (2  S.  21^-  ^-  ^^).  It  is  some  objection  to  this 
explanation  that  in  the  only  passage  where  execution  by 
casting  people  down  a  rock  is  clearly  referred  to  (2  Ch.  25^^^, 
the  verb  ypin  is  not  used. — For  Vahweh]  mn''^:  so  2  S.  21^, 
Dt.  13^'^,  Jos.  6^''^:  cp.  before  (^3D^)  Vahweh,  2  S.  21®, — Before 
the  sun\  i.e.  openly,  publicly:  2  S.  12^2^ — 5^  -phe  judges  (Ex. 
J312-27  E)  are  to  slay  (:"in)  the  offenders :  in  a  parallel  story 
(Ex.  32^'^-  J)  the  Levites  do  this. — Every  man  his  men]  the 
men  belonging  to  the  companies  over  which  the  judges  were 
severally  appointed  (Ex.  i8--''f). 


384  NUMBERS 

1.  "?";!]  G  icai  ^/3e/3»?\c5^i7  =  '?nn.  —  rui'?]  S  n:in^ :  cp.  Hos  4"'"  5'.  — 
Vk  rJiV]  a  pregnant  cstr.  of  a  common  type  (Ezek.  i6^^-  ^^).  It  certainly 
need  not  mean,  as  Kue.  {Th.  Tij'd.  xviii.  527  f.)  wished  to  make  it,  that 
the  Israelites  needed  to  search  out  the  Moabite  women  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts of  the  conquered  land. — 'jdx'i]  (S  correctly  interprets  Kal  ^<payev  twV 
6u<riuy  avruv. 

6-15  (P).  Phiiiehas  slays  an  offending  Simeonite  and  the 
Midianite  woman,  and  for  his  zeal  the  priesthood  is  secured  to 
his  descendants  for  all  time. — The  original  introduction  to 
this  story,  suppressed  by  the  editor  in  favour  of  v.^~^  (see 
above,  p.  380),  may  have  related  that  Balaam,  a  soothsayer 
resident  among  the  Midianites,  suggested  to  the  Midianites 
that  they  should  seduce  the  Hebrews  into  intermarrying  with 
them,  and  thus  involve  Yahweh's  destructive  anger  on  their 
enemies ;  and  that  the  stratagem  so  far  succeeded  that 
Yahweh  plagued  Israel  (v.^).*  But  this,  of  course,  is  not 
certain  :  it  is  by  no  means  clear  that  this  Midrash  about 
Balaam  (cp.  p.  320)  had  arisen  as  early  as  P*^ ;  c.  31,  which 
connects  Balaam  with  Ba'al  Pe'or,  is  P\ 

The  substance  of  the  present  section  seems  to  be  derived  from  Pe :  It 
is  entirely  in  his  manner  to  connect  the  origin  of  an  institution  with  an 
event.  Hence  v.*''^  seems  to  be  best  referred  to  Pe  in  spite  of  the 
presence  of  expressions,  not  common  in  that  writer,  which  led  Di.  to 
assign  v.'"" ^*  to  P*.  In  these  verses  (v.**"'*)  note  ncn,  ncn  3'cn,  ciSc  n'-.a, 
nrop  (of  God),  -.ex  nnn,  and  oViy  mna.  On  the  other  hand,  v.'"*  may  well  be 
a  later  addition  ;  the  position  in  which  the  additional  information  con- 
tained in  it  is  placed  is  unnatural.     V.'*""  presuppose  c  31  (P*). 

6.  And  behold,  one  of  the  Israelites  came  and  brought  home 
to  his  brethren  (vns  ^K  3"ip''l),  i.e.  introduced  to  his  family, 
the  Midianite  woman  of  his  choice  in  the  sight  of  Moses  and 
all  the  congregation\  in  the  absence  of  the  introduction,  it 
remains  uncertain  how  far  this  conduct  is  an  aggravation  of 
the  offence  that  had  caused  the  plague,  or  an  offence  different 
in  kind.  The  former  alternative  seems  the  more  probable. 
Possibly,  as  in  JE's  story  (v.^"^),  the  Israelites  had  previously 
consorted  with  foreign  women  in  their  own  homes,  but  had 
not  actually  taken  them  to  wife,  and  so,  by  bringing  them 
home,  defiled  the  camp.  In  any  case,  it  must  have  been  an 
•  So  Di.,  Kit.,  Bacon,  Dr.,  We. 


XXV.  6-12  3^5 

aggravation  of  the  offence  that  it  was  committed  while  the 
rest  of  the  congregation  were  assembled  before  the  tabernacle 
bemoaning  the  plague  (v,^^). — 7  f.  Phinehas  the  priest  follows 
the  offenders  to  their  tent  and  pierces  them  to  death.  His 
zeal,  which  became  an  example  to  later  ages  (i  Mac.  2^'^, 
4.  Mac  18^^),  appeases  Yahweh  (v.^^),  and  the  plague,  from 
which  24,000  died,  ceases.  Apart  from  a  genealogical  refer- 
ence (Ex.  6-^),  this  is  the  first  allusion  to  Phinehas  :  subsequent 
references  are  316,  Jos.  22i3-  30-32  (p)  2433(E),  Jud.  2028,  Ecclus. 
45^^.  Aaron,  being  now  dead,  and  Ele'azar  high  priest 
[20^^'^^),  Phinehas  is  free  to  distinguish  himself  in  a  deed  for 
which  his  father  was  rendered  unfit  by  his  office;  see  17211. 
— 8.  Into  the  te?it]  the  precise  meaning  of  n3p,  which  occurs 
here  only  in  OT.,  is  uncertain  ;  alcove  (RV.  marg.)  is  derived 
from  the  corresponding  word  in  Arabic  ;  see  phil.  note. — And 
the  plague  was  stayed\  17^^- ^^n.,  14^'' n. — 9a.  Cp.  17''*=^  (P). 

6.  'crrnx  vnx  "^n  3ip"i  N3]  The  variants  in  the  Versions  are  not  preferable, 
nor  is  Geig-er's  emendation  based  on  them  ('en  Sx  vnx  anpa  xa  :  Urschrift, 
395  f.). — 7.  nm]  an  alternative  for  n'jn  ;  it  is  rare  in  the  early  (Jud.  5^,  i  K. 
18^*),  but  was  popular  in  the  later  literature :  in  Joel  4^"  it  replaces  the 
n':n  of  Is.  2*,  Mic.  4^:  see  Exp.  1893  (Sept.),  2145.  The  present  is  the  only- 
instance  of  nm  in  the  Hex. — 8.  '7N1b"-B"k]  on  the  indefinite  e"n  see  Dav.  20, 
R.  2  ;  G.-K.  127^. — ■^3|~i^]  U  lupanar;  the  word  occurs  with  this  meaning- 
in  New  Hebrew  (see  Levy),  but  the  context  does  not  favour  the  adoption 
of  it  here,  nor  even  of  the  meaning-  the  hinder  (i.e.  the  women's)  apart- 

ment  of  a  tent,  i^yi  and  |  AlDCLO  mean  {i)  a  vault  or  arch  ;  (2)  a  vaulted 
tent,  a  tent  of  honour;  cf.  Ges.   Thes.  s.v. — n^?i?;]  from  n^p  Dt.   18*  (cp. 

<OJi  =ventriculus):  for  the  hateplt-hames  and  various  views  of  the  origin 
of  the  form,  see  Kon.  ii.  185 ;  Olsh.  §  xdoc. 

10.  Phinehas  .  .  .  hath  turned  back  My  wrath  from  pouring 
itself  out  upon  (^y?o)  the  children  of  Israel]  for  the  phrase  n'^CJ'n 
non  to  turn  back  wrath,  cp.  Jer.  i8°°,  Ps.  106^^ — Lt  that  he 
was  jealous  with  My  jealousy]  i.e.  resented,  as  deeply  as 
Yahweh  Himself,  the  dishonour  inflicted  on  Yahweh  by  the 
people'.s  sin. — 12.  I  give  him  My  covenant^  peace]  i.e.  I  assure 
him  of  My  friendly  attitude  towards  him ;  cp.  Is.  54^",  Ezek. 
3425  3720,  JMal.  2*^-. — The  covenant  of  an  everlasting  priest- 
hood] the  passage  appears  to  regard  the  priesthood  as  per- 
25 


386  NUMBERS 

petually  limited  to  the  family  of  Phinehas.  If  this  be  so,  it 
most  probably  reflects  the  theory  of  a  time  between  Ezekiel 
and  Ezra,  and  is  on  this  ground  best  referred  to  P^.  The 
earlier  historical  books  (Samuel,  Kings)  speak  of  the  two 
great  priestly  houses  of  'Eli  and  Sadok,  but  attribute  to 
neither  descent  from  Phinehas,  nor  even  from  Aaron.  On  the 
other  hand,  Sadok  was  promoted  to  the  priesthood  by  the 
king ;  and  as  late  as  the  end  of  the  7th  century  the  theory 
appears  to  have  prevailed  that  'Eli  and  Sadok  were  not  of  the 
same  descent  (i  S.  2^''"^^,  especially  v.^^ — a  Deuteronomic 
passage).  Ezekiel  confined  the  priesthood  to  the  descendants 
of  Sadok,  but  did  not  connect  them  with  Phinehas.  Later 
the  connection  of  Sadok  and  Phinehas  was  genealogically 
established  (Ezr.  7^-3,  i  Ch.  s^off-  6^^^-  (6^-  ^off-)).  The  present 
passage  thus  presents  substantially  the  theory  of  Ezekiel,  but 
gives  to  the  exclusively  Sadokite  (Jerusalem)  priesthood  a 
more  ancient  origin.  Other  passages  in  the  secondary  strata 
of  P  or  in  the  Chronicler  (Lev.  lo^- 12.  w  Nu.  3!-*,  i  Ch.  24I-G, 
Ezr.  8^ ;  cp.  Neh.  io^~^)  extend  the  priesthood  to  the  family 
of  Phinehas'  uncle,  Ithamar.  Possibly  the  Ithamarites  are 
the  descendants  of  the  local  priests  who  succeeded  in  making 
good  their  claim  to  share  with  the  Sadokites  (=  Phinehas)  the 
right  to  officiate  in  Jerusalem.* — 13b /3.  Cp.  17^-. 

12.  inx]  S  'n-cx. — mSz'  'nn;]  The  cstr.  is  appositional,  unless,  as  in  the 
pa-ssages  cited  above,  ciVc  n-nn  should  be  read :  cp.  (S  SiadriKriv  elp-qvi^i. 
On  the  broken  1  in  Di^tr,  see  Kon.  Einleitung,  34,  84. 

14  f.  The  oflTending  Israelite  was  a  prince  (7^  n.)  of  a 
SJmconite  family,  or  father's  house  (i^  n.).  His  name  was 
ZiviHy  his  father's  SalU,  Zimri  (cp.  i  K  16^,  i  Ch.  8^^)  is 
derived  from  the  name  of  an  animal  (Dt.  14^),  and  is  con- 
sequently a  name  of  an  early  type  [HPN.  c.  ii.  §  2) ;  the 
instances  of  names  resembling  Sdhi  {^'^^)  are  late :  see  i  Ch. 
9^  (Ni^p),  Neh.  11^  (^^?),  12'^  C"^?) :  cp.  also  the  Aramaic 
''^D2S  {CIS.  II.  122).  Cosbt  is  from  a  root  meaning  io  deceive; 
on  the  name  Silr^  see  p.  6.     Here  and  In  v.^^  and  Jos.   13*' 

*  See,  further,  We.  Proleg,  c.  iv.,  especially  pp.  122  fF.,  138  IT.;  Baud- 
issin,  Priesterthunif  54,  iiof.,  \2Zi  '39>  '9^i  201  ;  Nowack,  Arch,  ii.  105. 


XXV.  I3-XXVL  3^7 

Cozbi's  father  is  represented  as  prince  (S'"'3),  in  31^  as 
one  of  the  five  kings  (D''3^d),  of  Midian. — 16-18.  The  verses 
are  the  note  of  a  priestly  editor  familiar  with  the  preceding 
composite  story,  and  are  intended  to  prepare  the  way  for 
c.  31  (P^). — 16  f.  Attack  the  Midianites  .  .  .for  they  did  attack 
you  'with  their  crafty  plans^  which  they  craftily  planned  against 
you]  by  means  of  their  women,  at  the  suggestion  of  Balaam 
(31^^).  The  alUision  to  the  Midianites  connects  the  note  with 
y  6-15  ^p'j — /;^  ^/^g  matter  of  Peor]  this  connects  the  note 
with  v.^~^  (JE).  The  annotator  may  have  taken  Pe'or  itself 
to  be  a  divine  name ;  or  he  may  have  used  the  abbreviation 
as  a  mere  reference  to  v.^"^,  without  clearly  distinguishing  the 
place  and  the  god. 

13.  niDK]  Gn.  25^^ t  (of  Islimaelltes);   cp.  nex  people,  in  Bibl.  Aram, 
(with  TMOSC.  pL  k;en  ;  cp.  C'?Nri  in  Ps.   117',   unless  cen^  should  be  read 

■a  ■ 

there),  Syr.  and  Pal.  Targ.;  and  ^>',  gens^  famiUa.  If  the  present  be 
the  original  text,  trans,  "a  head  of  the  clans  of  a.  father's  house";  then 
-CN  is  a  subdivision  of  ax  n'a  (cp.  i^  n.).  ax  n'a,  however,  is  possibly  a 
gloss;  we  must  then,  it  seems,  read  the  sing.  (cp.  S  Cc  S>),  "a  head  of 
a  clan  [a  father's  house]  in  Midian,"— 16.  <&  +  ien"?  'b"  'Ja  hn  lai.— 
18.  nV3  laT  "jy  (i)]  in  the  matter  of;  so  'ai3  'n  h]l  and  31^*.  In  the  last 
clause  of  the  v.  (cp.  17'^)  'l  h])=on  account  o/"  (rather  than  because  of, 
BDB.  184a). 


XXVI.   The  Second  Census. 

(i)  Moses  and  Ele'azar  are  bidden  to  take  a  (second) 
census,  v.^~^;  (2)  the  families  and  numbers  of  the  twelve 
secular  tribes,  v.^~^^ ;  (3)  Moses  is  instructed  that  the  land 
(of  Canaan)  is  to  be  divided  among  the  tribes  in  proportion 
to  their  size,  v.'^-"^^;  (4)  the  families  and  numbers  of  the 
Levitcs,  v.^'^"^" ;  (5)  a  subscription  and  statement  that  Caleb 
and  Joshua  alone  were  alive  at  both  the  first  and  second 
census,  v.^^"*^^.  The  connection  between  the  several  sections 
is  obvious,  though  (5)  might  more  naturally  have  stood 
after  (2). 

The  chapter  is  closely  related  to  c.  i  and  3  (the  first 
census),  which  are  presupposed,  and  to  Gn.  c.  46,  which 
contains  the  great  majority  of  names  of  the   Hebrew  clans 


388  NUMBERS 

here  g-iven.  In  enumerating  the  tribes  (v.^"^")  ^}  follows  the 
order  of  i-'^-^^  (except  that  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  change 
places  with  one  another) ;  (S  keeps  the  order  of  Gn.  46.  On 
the  numbers  given  in  the  chapter,  see  pp.  10-15 ;  and  for  fuller 
details  regarding  the  clans  and  their  names,  see  the  com- 
mentaries on  Gn.  46,  and  cp.  i  Ch.  2.  4.  5.  7.  8,  Jubilees  44. 

In  v.^"^^  the  names  and  numbers  are  g'iven  in  recurring 
formulae  after  the  manner  of  P  (cp.  e.^^.  c.  i) ;  but  the  scheme 
is  once  or  twice  mterrupted  by  the  introduction  of  matter  which 
is,  strictly  speaking,  irrelevant.  Under  each  tribe  there  is 
given  (i)  the  names  of  its  subdivisions,  which  are  generally 
identified  with  those  of  the  sons  of  the  tribal  ancestor,  but 
in  the  case  of  Judah,  Manasseh,  Ephraim,  Benjamin,  and 
Asher,  with  those  of  more  distant  descendants  also,  and  in  the 
case   of  Asher,   in   one   instance,   with  that  of  a  daughter; 

(2)  the  numbers  of  males  over  twenty  years  old  (v.*)  belong- 
ing to  the  tribe.     The  formula  for  the  first  information  is  : 

The  sons  of  A.  according-  to  their  families:  of  X.,  the 
family  of  the  Xites,  of  Y.,  the  family  of  the  Yites, 

where  A.  is  a  tribal  ancestor  and  X.,  Y.  .  .  .  sons  (or 
other  descendants). 

The  formula  for  the  second  statement  is  : 

These  are  the  families  of  A.  according  to  them  that  were 
numbered  of  them,  x  y  z, 

where  A.  is  as  above,  x  thousands,  y  hundreds,  z  tens. 

The  first  formula  runs  in  a  particular  instance  Vn-ic:'?  cnnrr.':'?  pvcc  'j3 
.  .  .  ''7«icjn  nnrt'D,  and  so  without  variation  of  the  formula  in  v.^^'-^**^*  ^^ 
(in  v.2^  ViTi  is  prefixed),  -^-  ^*^-  **■  ■*^'*.  Slight  variations  occur  as  follows  : 
(i)  n'?K  is  prefixed  in  33.42^  possibly  under  the  influence  of  the  second 
formula ;    cp.  also  v.^ ;    (2)  ^  is  omitted  before   T^n  (v.^)  and  j;'7in  (v.*) ; 

(3)  DnnsB'c'?  is  omitted  in  v.'*  ^.  The  variations  are  as  early  as  ffir,  but 
it  is  probable  that  they  are  due  to  early  transcriptional  error  rather 
than  to  the  intention  of  the  original  writer.  The  second  formula  runs 
in  a  particular  instance  .  .  .  cn'ips'?  m-n'  nina^i'O  nVx.  In  this  formula 
instead  of  the  simple  tribal  name  (v.^^-  ^'  ^-  *^'  *")  the  g^entilic  form  appears 
in  v.'^-  "•  -',  and  the  phrase  i/ie  sons  of.  .  .  in  v.'^*  ^-  *^-  ".  Some  of  these 
variations  may  be  original,  though  they  are  less  numerous  in  (S  than 
in  1^.  Other  variations  are  as  follows  :  (i)  for  n.Tipi:':'  (7  times  ;  G  iK  r^s 
(or  e|)  iwia-Ki^€ios  avrQv)  |^,  though  not  ffi,  thrice  has  D.inpsi  (v.34. «.  50j  j^pj 
once  nothing  (v."),  and  in  the  first  section  DnnpD  v.n  (v.^  ;  and  so  (G)  ; 
(2)  for  cnn2-'2  n^i<  there  occurs  in  v.'*'  cnn^-JT':'  yD'iz  -ja  n'rx  ;  and  (3)  bctwecii 


XXVI.  1-4  3^9 

-I  and  Drnps"?  there  is  inserted  'cnicn  nnrrs  ^3  cnnfircV.  All  these,  though 
(2)  and  (3)  already  appear  in  (&,  are  probably  due  to  transcriptional 
causes,  except  that  's  vn'i  in  v.''  may  well  be  original.  Remoter 
descendants  and  the  families  named  after  them  are  introduced  with  v.ti 
(v.^),  n'jxi  (v.^^),  ':2h  (v. ■'5) :  the  text  of  v.*"  seems  corrupt ;  see  below. 

The  matter  in  v.^~^°  which  does  not  accommodate  itself  to 
the  formulae  is  found  in  v.^"^^  and  v.^°  (29)-33  Possibly  both  of 
these  passages  are  interpolations. 

V.^  does  not  follow  the  general  scheme  (which  would  require  't^D  ax^'^x'? 
'aN''7Kn),  and  the  remoter  descendants  of  Reuben  are  inserted  afier  the 
numbers  of  the  tribe  (v.'')  ;  ct.  v.^^-  ^-  *>•  *^.  In  v.^'^^,  while  the  regular 
formula  occurs  once  ('pVnn  'trn  pVn*?),  in  the  remaining  five  cases  it  is 
abandoned  {e.g.  niy'N.T  'va  •\iii'i(). 

Strictly  speaking,  v.^°  and  v.^s  are  also  irrelevant  to  the 
present  section;  but  there  is  no  independent  reason  for 
suspecting  their  present  position  not  to  be  original. 

The  formulae  and  the  connections  of  the  c.  with  other  parts  of  P  are 
sufficient  evidence  that  it  is  the  product  of  the  priestly  school  (P).  But  it 
cannot  be  entirely  the  work  of  P^^ ;  for  v.^"  presuppose  the  existence  of 
c.  16  (JE  P)  in  its  present  form.  Either  an  account  of  a  second  census  in 
Ps  has  been  annotated  and  perhaps  recast  by  a  later  writer,  or  the  entire 
chapter  is  the  work  of  P^  In  addition  to  other  matters  CH.  note  that 
"the  introduction  of  the  division  of  the  land  (v.^*"'®)  seems  premature  ;  the 
name  of  the  land,  even,  is  not  mentioned,  much  less  its  conquest,  or  even 
the  passage  of  the  Jordan  ;  ct.  33*'^'  34^^'  :  moreover,  according  to  27^^^", 
Dt.  32'*^*-,  IVIoses  was  not  permitted  to  cross  the  Jordan  and  could  not  be 
the  instrument  of  the  distribution." 

1-4.  Directions  to  take  the  census. — 1.  Aaron  being  dead, 
Ele'azar  is  associated  with  Moses  in  the  taking  of  the  second 
census. — 2.  The  command  is  briefer,  but  otherwise  couched 
in  the  same  phraseology  as  in  i^^-. — 3  f.  The  text  is  manifestly 
corrupt,  though  not  easily  emended :  see  phil.  n.  The  scene 
of  this  census  is  the  steppes  of  Moab ;  cp.  22^  (P). — 4.  As 
Yahweh  commanded  Moses\  a  frequently  recurring  phrase, 
especially  in  P'  (CH.  i8gc). — And  the  children  of  Israel  who 
came  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt\  to  make  this  clause  a  second 
object  to  commayided  (RV.)  is  to  go  against  all  analogy  in  the 
use  of  the  formula  as  Yahweh  commanded  Moses ;  note  further 
that  nx,  which  is  prefixed  to  Moses,  is  absent  from  this  clause. 
The  words  might  better  be  taken  as  the  subject  of  v.^^- ;  cp. 


390  NUMBERS 

Gn.  46^.  Rather  less  probable  is  Paterson's  suggestion  to 
read  '':3^  for  ''i2"i,  and  to  render  -with  regard  to  the  children  of 
Israel,  etc. 

1.  Y^T\)!(.  p]  (S  om.  —  3  f.  crix  .  ,  .  nm'i]  MT.  reads  wrongly  cnx  ;  -lai 
nx  occurs  often  enough  (e.g.  3'  7^^),  but  in  recording  a  communication  of 
Moses  to  the  Israelites  the  phrase  here  used  is  an  unusual  variant  of  'ti 
crr'pN.  The  beginning  of  the  speech  (v.*)  that  followed  na.N^  (v.^)  is  lost ; 
at  present  it  consists  merely  of  a  clause  and  a  subordinate  sentence :  fro7n 
twenty  years  old  and  upwards,  as  Yahweh  commanded  Moses.  The  cor- 
ruptions lie  behind  (S.  S  indeed  omits  idn'?  and  inserts,  And  Moses 
numbered  them  ;  but  this  may  be  merely  a  makeshift  of  the  same  order  as 
that  adopted  in  RV.  For  a  criticism  of  various  unsuitable  and  insufficient 
emendations,  see  Di.  The  least  unsuitable  is  that  adopted  by  Paterson 
(in  SBOT.),  who  reads  "ipiJ'i  for  nm'i  and  omits  TDx^ ;  then  render,  Atid 
Moses  and  Ele' azar  the  priest  numbered  them  ,  .  .  from,  twenty  years  old 
and  upwards. 

5-51.  The  families  and  numbers  of  the  Israelites. — 5-7.  Of 
Reuben. — Reuben,  the  firstborn  of  Israel^  i-'',  Ex.  6^*;  cp.  Gn. 
46^  (P).  The  sons  of  Reuben,  i.e.  Reubenite  clans,  are  Handch, 
Pallu\  Hesron  and  Canni;  the  same  names  are  given  in  Gn.  46^, 
Ex.  6^'*,  1  Ch.  5^. — 8-11.  An  appendix  to  the  section  on  Reuben, 
perhaps  interpolated;  see  above. — 8.  And  the  sons  of  .  .  .\ 
the  pi.  is  used,  though  only  one  name  follows :  so  often  in  the 
genealogies  (e.g.  v.^^,  Gn.  46^^,   i  Ch.   i^^). — Elidb\   \G-  n. — 

9.  The  sons  of  Eliah\  are  Ddthdn  and  ^Abiram  (16^  JE),  and  an 
otherwise  unknown  Neviiiel;  for  the  last  name,  cp.  v.^^. — 
Elect  of  the  congregation^  i^^  n.;  cp.  16^  (P). — The  congrega- 
tion of  Kora}{\  the  phrase  betrays  the  hand  of  P^;  see  16^  n. — 

10.  Citations  from  and  verbal  reminiscences  of  i6^^-  ^^  (JE  P). — 
And  they  became  a  wo?tder]  or  warning.  The  word  Dp  regularly 
means  a  standard',  nowhere  else  in  OT.  does  it  bear  its  present 
meaning;  but  it  is  often  so  used  in  post-biblical  Hebrew;  see 
Levy,  s.v. — 11.  But  the  sons  of  Korah  died  not]  Korah  himself 
(v.^^)  and  the  men  that  belonged  to  his  company  (16^-)  perished  ; 
but  not  "the  sons  of  Korah"  themselves,  for  **a  family  of 
Korah"  still  exists  (v.^^;  cp.  "the  sons  of  Korah"  of  the 
Psalm-titles).  Arguing  thus,  as  it  would  seem,  an  annotator 
added  the  present  note  to  the  text. — 18-14.  The  Simeonite 
clans  (Gn.  46^^,  Ex.  6^^,  i  Ch.  4^^)  are  NemiVel,  perhaps  the 
correct    form  of  /ctniVcl   (Gn.,   Ex.;  see  HPN.   307),  fCimhi, 


XXVI.  5-29  391 

Jachhi  (Ch.  fl?,  incorrectly,  Jdrib),  Zerah  (mt ;  Gn.,  Ex.  "IPIV), 
and  ShaicL  A  sixth  clan,  Ohad,  mentioned  between  Jamin 
and  Jachin  in  Gn.,  Ex.,  and  Jubil.,  is  here  and  in  Ch.  omitted. 
15-18.  The  Gadite  clans  (Gn.  46^^)  are  Sephon,  which  is  incor- 
rectly given  as  Siphion  in  Gn.  (5^  not  G)  and  Jubil.  442*', 
Haggle  Slmni,  and  Oznt^  or  rather  Esbon  (Gn.;  cp.  Jubil.  44-°, 
I*  Ch.  f),  'Eri,  Arod  (Gn.  Arodi),  and  ArclL—Vi.  Gn.  46^2  — 
20.  The  clans  of  Judah  (Gn.  4612,  i  Ch.  s^f-,  cp.  Gn.  38  J) 
described  as  his  sons  are  ShSlah,  Peres,  and  Zerah,  and  (21) 
those  described  as  his  grandsons  by  Peres  are  Hesron  and 
Haimil. — 23-25.  The  clans  of  Issachar  (Gn.  46^^^  i  Ch.  7^)  are 
ToW,  Piiah  [Ptcwwdh),  Jashub  (in  Gn.,  incorrectly,  Job),  and 
Shimron. — 26  f.  The  clans  of  Zebulon  (Gn.  46^*)  are  Scred, 
El6?i,  and  Jahle'el.—^Q.  Cp.  Gn.  4620.— 29-32.  The  Manassite 
clans,  which  for  obvious  reasons  are  not  mentioned  in  Gn., 
consist  of  Machir  described  as  a  son,  Gilead  as  a  grandson 
of  Manasseh,  and  six  others  (v.^^)  described  as  sons  of  Gile'ad. 
Translated  out  of  genealogical  language  the  meaning  of  the 
writer  appears  to  be  that  the  Manassite  clan  Machir  came, 
whether  by  conquest  or  otherwise  (cp.  32^"^-  (JE),  Dt.  3^^,  Jos. 
13^1  (P)),  into  possession  of  Gile'ad  [i.e.  Manasseh's  possession 
E.  of  Jordan),  whence  subsequently  Manassite  clans  {e.g. 
Gile'ad's  "sons"  Shechem  and  Tezer)  separated  and  settled 
W.  of  Jordan.  Machir  is  an  ancient  clan  or  tribal  name  (Jud. 
5^*)  which  was  early  connected  with  Manasseh  (Gn.  50-^  (JE)). 
A  clan  might  be  described  as  the  father  of  the  district  where  it 
dwelt;  cp.  e.g.  "Hamor  the  father  of  Shechem"  (Gn.  34°), 
"Ashhur  the  father  of  Tekoa',"  «'Mareshah,  the  father  of 
Hebron,"  etc.  (i  Ch.  2^*-  *2).  There  is  nothing  surprising  in  a 
late  genealogist  supposing  that  W.  Manasseh  was  of  later 
origin  than  E.  Manasseh,  and  so  representing  Manassite 
towns  or  clans  on  the  W.  (Shechem,  Tezer)  as  sons  of  Gile'ad, 
even  though,  as  earlier  sources  report  (Jud.  12^^-;  and  see  on 
32^^"*^),  E.  Manasseh  was  in  reality  an  offshoot  from  the  W. 
Other  references  agreeing  with  the  present  genealogical 
scheme  are  27^  36^,  Jos.  17^  (P).  A  different  scheme  is  found 
in  Jos.  171^-2  (?JE);  there  Machir  still  appears  as  father  of 
Gile'ad,  but  the  six  clans  here  classed  as  sons  of  Gile'ad  are 


392  NUMBERS 

there  sons  of  Manasseh  and  brothers  of  Machlr.  Yet  a  third 
scheme  Is  found  in  i  Ch.  7^^^^  and  a  fourth  underlies  i  Ch. 
221-23 .  for  further  discussion  and  g^enealogical  tables,  see 
Driver's  art.  "Manasseh"  in  Hasting-s' Z>^.;  Kue.  Th.  Tijd. 
xi.  483  fF. — 30-32.  The  six  clans  here,  though  not  always  (see 
preceding-  note),  described  as  sons  of  Gilead  are  also  mentioned 
in  Jos.  17-  and  in  part  in  i  Ch.  7^^^-.  Pezer  is  an  abbreviation 
for  Abfezer  (Jos.,  Ch. ;  ffit  reads  here,  wrongly,  '^;^^te^ep) ;  it 
was  the  clan  whence  Gideon  sprang  (Jud.  6^^-  2*-  ^  8--  ^2),  and 
was  resident,  in  part  at  least,  in  his  days  at  'Ophrah,  which, 
probably,  lay  not  far  from  Shechem  (cp.  Jud.  9),  and  certainly 
west  of  Jordan  (Jud.  8  in  the  light  of  6^*).  Shechem,  though 
vocalised  (M^ ;  but  ffi  S'^xe/i)  in  MT.  (here,  Jos.  172,  i  Ch. 
.7^'')  differently  from  Shechem  the  well-known  town  (D^?')*  niust 
yet  be  closely  connected  with  it.  Helek  and  Asri'el  are  men- 
tioned only  here  and  in  Jos.  17^;  the  names  are  absent  from 
I  Ch.  7^*  (see  Kit.);  Hepher  is  also  mentioned  in  v.^^  27^, 
Jos.  172^-;  Sheiuida  m  Jos.  172,  i  Ch.  7^9.-33.  An  irrelevant 
anticipation  of  27^.  Selophehad's  daughters  (27'  36^^,  Jos.  17^) 
are  towns  or  clans :  *  Mahlah  is  parallel  to  the  clan  name 
Abf  ezer  in  i  Ch.  7^^  ;  Tirsah  is  the  name  of  one  of  the  capitals 
of  the  northern  kingdom  (i  K.  15^^  Jos.  12^^);  with  Hoglah^ 
cp.  Beth-Hoglah  (Jos.  15*^);  Milcah  is,  strictly  speaking,  a 
divine  name,  but  may,  like  the  last,  be  an  abbreviation,  and 
stand  for  Beth-Milcah  ;  No  ah  ("Vi  ;  ffi  ZVoya)  is  distinguished 
from  the  Zebulonite  town  of  Ne'ah  (^Wn  Jos.  19^^;  (St^  Avvova, 
^  Nova)  merely  by  the  absence  of  the  article  and  the  vocalisa- 
tion ;  it  probably  appears  in  a  corrupt  form  (Ani'am,  cy^X) 
in  I  Ch.  7^^  as  a  "son"  of  Shemida'  and  "brother"  of 
Shechem.  Note  that  Gath-Hepher  is  mentioned  just  before 
Ne'ah  in  Jos. — 35  f.  The  clans  of  Ephraim  which  are  described 
as  his  sons  are  Shuthelah  [Becher]  and  Tahan  (S  Taham.\ 
G  Tava)() ;  as  his  grandson  by  Shuthelah,  'Erdn.  These, 
like  the  Manassite  clans,  and  for  the  same  reason,  are  not 
mentioned  in  Gn.  46;  but  cp.  and  ct.  i  Ch.  720-29.  JK  omits 
Becher^  which  is  probably  out  of  place  here  and  should  be 
transferred  to  v.^  {EBi.  508),  though  it  is,  of  course,  possible 
•  Kue.  Th.  TiJd.  xi.  488;  cp.  Gra)^,  Hebrc-v  Proper  JN antes,  116. 


XXVI.  30-50  393 

that  the  clan  at  one  time  was  counted  to  Ephraim,  at  another 
to  Benjamin  (2  S.  20^).  Possibly  Becher  has  replaced  Bered, 
which  in  i  Ch.  7-^  stands  between  Shuthelah  and  TaJiath. 
Shuthclah  is  mentioned  only  here  and  in  i  Ch.  -20(21).  -vvith 
Tahaii,  cp.  Tahath,  i  Ch.  f-^,  rather  than  Tahan,  ib.  vP. 
^Eran,  or  rather  'Edan  (S),  is  probably  represented  by  El'adah 
or  El'ad  in  i  Ch.  7''"-,  and  La'dan  in  i  Ch.  7^6;  see  EBi. 
1329.— 38-41.  The  clans  of  Benjamin  (Gn.  46^1,  i  Ch.  7»-i2 
giff.j  ^vhich  are  described  as  his  sons  are  Beld  [Becher  \  see 
preceding^  note),  Ashbel,  AMram^  Sheph^phdni,  Huphdm,  and 
as  his  grandsons  by  Bela',  Ard  and  Naavian\  in  S  and  Gn. 
the  last  two  also  rank  as  sons  of  Benjamin  ;  with  the  view  of 
MT.  here,  cp.  i  Ch.  8^  (ct.  7^).  Becher  in  Gn.  stands  between 
Bela*  and  Ashbel,  and  may  lie  concealed  in  1133  his  firstborn  in 
I  Ch.  83;  see  H.  W.  Hogg  '^nJQR.  xi.  109.  "  Ehi  and  Rosh, 
Muppim  "  in  Gn.,  are  not  genuine  names  ;  they  are  the  result  of 
a  faulty  reading  of  the  consonantal  text  (DSISC',  cnTix),  which 
contained  the  names  Ahiraniy  Shephtlpham^  correctly  read  here ; 
Jubil.  44^  seems  slightly  less  corrupt  than  Gn.  ;  see  HPN. 
p.  35  n.  I.  On  the  other  hand,  Gera  (Gn.,  also  i  Ch.  8^)  is  a 
genuine  name ;  but  whether  its  omission  here  is  accidental 
or  intentional  must  remain  uncertain.  Ch.  mentions  a  large 
number  of  Benjamite  clans  mentioned  neither  here  nor  in  Gn. — 
42  f.  Of  Dan  only  a  single  clan  is  named,  Shiiham,  called  in 
Gn.  4623  Hushim.— 44-47.  The  clans  of  Asher  (Gn.  46^7,  i  Ch. 
^sof.j  described  as  his  sons  are  Imnah,  Ishvah  (so  read  with 
Gn.,  Ch.  ;  in  Gn.,  Ch.  '■^  and IshvV  is  dittographic),  Beriah; 
as  his  grandsons  by  Berfah,  //eber  a.nd  Malchi'el,  and  as  his 
daughter  Serah. — 48-50.  The  clans  of  Naphtali  (Gn.  46-*, 
I  Ch.  7^3)  are  Jahse'ely  Giini^  J^^er,  and  Shillem  (S,  Ch. 
Shalluiii). 

9.  cni-nn  .  .  .  isn]  S  Dmjnna  .  .  ,  njnrr.  The  Hiphil  of  nx:  occurs  else- 
where only  in  Ps.  60  title,  and  is  there  perhaps  a  corruption  of  inin. — 
10.  mp  riNi]  S  pND.— t^'N  '7:«a]  S  +  i  mp  nx.— 50.  ppi  tin  v'?^  -ja  vn-i]  S  omits 
this  clause  and  has  in  its  place  simply  iin'?  :  see  above.  If  the  clause  in 
511)  be  original  tin'*?  before  rnxn  nn^cD  has  dropped  out,  for  it  is  required  by 
the  scheme  of  the  chapter.  But  it  is  likely  enough  that  S  is  original  (note 
also  variations  in  G),  and  that  the  additional  clause  in  1]  has  been  added 
to  thought  of  the  theory  underlying  1  Ch.  8^'-. — 44.  'w'?  .-;c'.i]  the  eye  of  a 


394  NUMBERS 

copyist  confused  the  endings  of  the  two  words :  read  "rrS  '32',t.  In  Gn, 
46"  '•W1  is  dittographic  of  mv^ ;  but,  like  the  incorrect  reading-  D*20  cxni  'hm 
(see  p.  393),  the  error  may  be  older  than  the  compilation  of  the  70  names 
in  Gn.  There  is  thus  no  evidence  that  the  name  '^v/^^  had  any  real 
existence ;  in  i  S.  14^  it  is  an  intentional  mutilation  of  another  name 
(see,  e.g.,  We.  on  the  passage). 

52-56.  The  manner  in  which  the  land  is  to  be  divided  among 
the  tribes. — The  meaning"  is  not  quite  clear.  Two  principles 
of  division  are  enjoined  ;  on  the  one  hand,  the  land  is  to  be 
divided  among-  the  several  tribes  in  proportion  to  their  respec- 
tive numbers ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  to  be  assigned  by  lot. 
How  these  two  in  themselves  irreconcilable  principles  are 
both  to  be  respected  in  the  division  is  not  said.  The  explana- 
tion commonly  offered  is  that  the  districts  in  which  the  several 
tribes  were  to  settle  were  determined  by  lot  (cp.  33^^),  and  that 
then  the  size  of  the  district  was  determined  by  the  size  of  the 
tribe.  It  was  an  old  tradition  that  the  country  was  apportioned 
to  the  several  tribes  by  lot,  the  older  view  being  that  the  allot- 
ment was  made  before  the  conquest  (Jud.  i^~^,  Jos.  17^*"^^  J), 
the  later  that  the  allotment  was  made  after  the  conquest  [e.g. 
Jos.  14^"^  j^is-zs  p^_  If  the  fact  niay  be  pressed  that  the  com- 
mand is  here  (v.^^-  ^*)  given  to  Moses,  the  present  passage 
takes  the  former  view.  For  other  references  in  OT.  to  the 
allotment  of  land,  see  Mic.  2*'-;  for  the  custom  among-  other 
peoples,  Herod,  v.  77  and  other  references  in  Di.  ;  and  for 
the  historical  probability  of  allotment  before  conquest,  Kit. 
Gesch.  d.  Hebr.  i.  245  ff. 

The  fact  that  the  division  is  to  be  made  according  to 
number,  accounts  for  the  present  section  being  placed  after  the 
account  of  the  census  ;  and  the  theory  that  Levi  had  no  landed 
possession  (v.^^),  for  its  being  placed  before  the  census  of 
Levi  (v.57-62). 

53.  To  these  tribes  shall  the  land  he  apportioned  as  an 
inheritance  (cp.  iS^'')  according  to  the  number  of  names,  i.e.  of 
persons  (cp.  i^  n.),  in  the  several  tribes. — 54,  Forthattrxh^  which 
is  large,  thou  shall  make  its  iyiheritance  proportionately  large ; 
z.ndi  for  that  which  is  sinall  thou  shall  m,ake  its  inheritance  pro- 
portionately  .ywfl!// :  for  other  antitheses  of  m,  DJ?D  (D'ycn,  nmn), 
large  and  small  (especially  with  reference  to  numbers),  see  35^, 


XXVI.  S2-5S  395 

Ex.  i6^^,  Jer.  29",  Gn.  ;^o^'^,  Dt.  7'^. — According  ^0  (the  number 
of)  ^/lose  that  were  numbered  of  each  tribe  shall  its  inheritance  be 
given. — 55.  Accoi-diiig  to  the  names  of  their  fathers^  tribes  shall 
they  inherit]  with  CTiinN  DIL^JD,  cp.  Nu.  i^^.  47  j^a  23^4  36*!. 
The  meaning-  is  rather  obscure ;  perhaps  Di.  interprets  cor- 
rectly :  the  land  is  first  divided  by  lot  to  the  twelve  tribes  ; 
individuals  gain  their  portion  through  their  tribe  and  in  the 
portion  allotted  to  it. — 56.  According-  to  the  lot  shall  its,  viz. 
Israel's  (or,  preferably,  reading  with  ffi  (followed  by  RV.  with- 
out acknowledgment)  DniriJ  their)  inheritance,  i.e.  Canaan,  be 
divided  betiveen  the  more  nianerous  and  the  less  numerous 
(tribes). 

53.  vip£3  '•;'?  c'n]  G.-K.  I39r. — wSm  fri;]  •\rhm  is  best  regarded  as  an  ace. 
after  the  Pass.  ;  cp.  with  the  same  vb.  32°,  i  K.  -2?^ ;  G.-K.  121. — 55.  nicc'"? 
mas]  <&.  Toi^  6v6fw,(nv,  Kara  <pv\ds  (  =  nit:D'7) :  the  effect  of  this  is  to  make  v.'''' 
extend  the  apportionment  by  lot  to  the  case  of  individuals :  this  is  not 
directly  enjoined  in  J^. 

57-62.  The  families  and  numbers  of  the  Levites.  —  As  at 
the  first  census  (i*^*^'),  the  Levites  are  numbered  apart  from  the 
other  tribes  ;  and  on  this  occasion  because  the  other  tribes  are 
numbered  with  a  view  to  the  distribution  of  the  land  among 
them  (v.^^^),  whereas  Levi  is  to  receive  no  land  {v.^^).  This 
section  may  originally  have  consisted  of  v.^''-  ^^  only. 

Even  in  pj,  and  still  more  in  ©,  which  reads  'i!?  '33  for  'i'?n  mps  (J^),  or 
C'lhn  '3  (S),  v.^''  follows  closely  the  first  formula  for  the  secular  tribes  (see 
above).  On  the  contrary,  v.^^^  is  cast  in  a  different  mould  :  further,  though 
making  a  fresh  start,  v."^  is  in  respect  of  its  contents  entirely  parallel  to 
v.*^;  both  give  a  list  of  Levitical  families — v.",  the  three  families  which 
appear  elsewhere  as  the  main  divisions  of  Levi  (Gn.  46",  Ex.  6"',  Nu.  c. 
3f.  7'-9,  Jos.  c.  21,  I  Ch.  52'  61  (61-  ^s)  1549-.  23^) ;  v.'s»,  families  named  after 
persons  appearing  in  the  genealogies  as  grandsons  or  yet  more  remote 
descendants  of  Levi,  i.e.  families  which  were  regarded  as  subdivisions.  So 
far  as  the  present  chapter  is  concerned  v.^'  is  primary  and  v.***  secondary ; 
but  this  by  no  means  precludes  the  possibility,  or  indeed  the  probability, 
that  V.**  contains  an  older  theory  of  the  Levitical  families.  V.^''""  is,  like 
y  8-10. 30-33^  irrelevant,  and,  like  v.^"'**,  based  on  different  sources. 

57.  The  Levitical  clans  are  given  as  in  3^^^  and  frequently 
elsewhere  (see  preceding  n.) :  Gershon,  Kohath,  and  Merari. — 
58.  A  different  list  of  Levitical  families,  in  which  only  the 
gentilic  forms  of  the  names  are  used  ;  ct.  v.^^.    Corresponding 


39<5  NUMBERS 

to  the  g-entllics  Hehroni  and  Korhi  are  the  names  Hebron  and 
Korah  (3^^  16^)  ;  the  three  remaining  gentilics  Miishi  Mahli 
and  Libni  are  themselves  used  as  names  in  the  priestly  gene- 
alogies (3-''-  ^^) ;  but  the  names  from  which  they  were  origin- 
ally derived  are  respectively  Moses  (Mosheh),  Mahlah,  and 
Libnah  ;  Libnah,  like  Hebron,  is  a  town  in  the  S.  of  Judah. 
As  applied  to  Levites,  it  is  probable  that  in  some  of  these  cases 
the  gentilic  form  is  the  earlier,  and  that  Hebroni  and  Libni,  for 
example,  did  not  figure  as  descendants  of  Levi  till  some  time 
after  various  bodies  of  Levites  had  been  known  as  the  Libnite 
Levites,  the  Hebronite  Levites,  and  so  forth.*  Mahlah  is 
identical  with  the  Ephraimite  clan  name  which  appears  (v.^^) 
as  one  of  Selophehad's  **  daughters."  In  the  scheme  (v.^^) 
which  made  Gershon,  Kohath,  and  Merari  the  "sons,"  i.e. 
the  main  divisions  of  Levi,  the  eponyms  of  the  five  Levitical 
clans  here  mentioned  occupy  different  positions ;  Kora^  is  a 
"great-grandson"  of  Levi,  a  "grandson"  of  Kohath  (16^); 
the  remaining  four  are  always  "  grandsons  "  of  Levi,  but  Libni 
is  sometimes  a  son  of  Gershon  (3^^,  i  Ch.  6-  ^^''^),  sometimes  of 
Merari  (i  Ch.  6^*^°^);  Mahli  and  Mfishi  are  always  sons  of 
Merari,  Hebron  of  Kohath. — And  Kohath  begat  'Amram]  Ex. 
6^^. — 59.  Cp.  Ex.  62*^  (P)  2^  (E).  Miriam  is  mentioned  nowhere 
else  in  P.— 60.  Cp.  3^,  Ex.  e^s.— 61  =  3*.— 62.  The  Levites 
number  23,000  against  22,000  at  the  earlier  census,  3^^. — 
62b.  Cp.  i*''^-  iS^o. — 64  f.  Apparently  a  subsequent  addition  to 
the  chapter,!  or  an  ill-placed  section ;  see  above,  p.  387. — 65. 
Cp.  1423^- ;  ct.  v.*'-  above. 

59.  DnsC3  nVS  nnx  nip,;  ncx]  this  appears  to  be  corrupt  or  out  of  place. 
rTj7,;  has  generally  been  explained  as  a  case  of  the  indef.  or  unexpressed 
subj.  {sc.  iTsx  or  ngVVri) ;  cp.  i  K.  i®.  But  cases  of  the  indef.  subj.  with 
the  3rd  s'lng./em.  are  extremely  rare  (Kon.  iii.  324^  109)'  Read  rather 
n|?;;  G.-K.  1216.— 62.  npsnn]  i«  n.  (p.  10). 

XXVII.  1-11.  The  law  of  succession  to  landed  property. — 
A  particular  instance,  the  death  of  Selophehad  without  male 
Issue,  leads  to  the  promulgation  of  a  law  providing  that  if  a 
man  die  without  male  Issue,  his  daughter  shall  succeed  to  his 

•  We.  Comp.  185  ;  S.  A.  Cook  in  EBi.  1662,  1665  f, 
t  We.  Comp.  185  f.;  Di. 


XXVI.  S9-XXVII.  i-ii  397 

(landed)  property,  if  he  die  without  any  issue  his  brothers, 
failing  these  his  paternal  uncles,  failing-  these  his  nearest  of 
kin  on  his  father's  side.  In  c.  36  a  general  law  proceeding 
from  the  same  particular  instance  provides,  by  way  of  corollary, 
that  daughters  thus  inheriting  must  marry  within  their  own 
tribe.  The  carrying  out  of  the  law  in  the  particular  instance 
is  recorded  in  Jos.  17^^-  (P). 

Both  the  law  and  its  corollary  are  designed  to  secure  the 
effective  working  of  a  deep-rooted  principle  of  Hebrew  society, 
viz.  that  land  must  not  be  permanently  alienated  from  the 
society  (whether  of  the  tribe  or  the  family)  to  which  it  has 
belonged.  The  hold  which  this  principle  had  on  the  Hebrews 
may  be  seen  in  the  resentment  evoked  by  violations  of  it 
(i  K.  21,  Is.  5^  Mic.  2");  and  by  the  right  and  duty  of  pur- 
chase within  the  family  (Jer.  32^*^-),  or  generally  by  the  practice 
of  redemption  which  culminated  in  the  theory,  if  not  in  the 
practice,  of  the  year  of  Jubilee  (Lev.  25^''^-).  According  to  the 
Levitical  law  this  principle  is  based  on  the  religious  theory  that 
all  the  land  was  Yahweh's,  granted  by  Him  to  the  various 
families  merely  for  use,  and  therefore  inalienable  by  them 
(Lev.  25^^). 

The  law  occupies  a  suitable  position  ;  it  immediately  follows 
the  census  which  had  been  taken  with  a  view  to  the  apportion- 
ment of  the  land  (26^2-56^^ 

The  section  is  clearly  derived  from  P  :  note  the  point  of  contact  in  v.^ 
with  16^'''  (Ps)  and  stylistically  inter  alia  dw:;'J,  ^J;^D  'rnx  nns,  t\\7\^.  The 
only  question  is  whether  it  belongs  to  the  primary  (We.  Comp.'^  H4f') 
or  the  secondary  (CH.  n.  on  v.')  strata  of  P.     See  Introd.  §  12. 

The  present  law  itself  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  intro- 
duced indicate  that  the  right  of  daughters  to  inherit  was  not 
an  immemorial  custom  in  the  time  of  the  writer  (P).  There  is 
no  trace  of  the  existence  of  such  a  right  in  the  pre-exilic  period  ; 
and  from  the  fact  that  Dt.  (211^^-  25^"^°)  recognises  only  sons 
as  heirs,  and  regulates  the  ancient  custom  of  the  levirate 
marriage  in  order  to  gain  the  same  end  as  is  here  reached  by 
extending  the  right  of  inheritance  to  daughters,  it  may  be 
reasonably  inferred  that  as  late  as  the  end  of  the  7th  cent,  u.c, 
the  right  of  daughters  to  inherit  was  still  unknown.     But  the 


39S  NUMBERS 

custom  of  the  levirate  marriage  cannot  have  been  unknown 
to  the  author  of  this  law ;  the  fact,  therefore,  that  he  makes 
no  allowance  for  it  (v.^),  is  possibly  an  indication  that  he  dis- 
approved of  marriages  of  the  type  (cp.  Lev.  18^^  20^^).  Be  this 
as  it  may,  the  levirate  marriage  long  continued  to  be  practised 
(Mt.  22-^).  Job  (42^5)  goes  beyond  the  present  law;  for  it 
represents  daughters  as  coheirs  with  sons.  But  whether  this 
represents  the  actual  practice,  or  even  a  prevalent  theory  of 
the  time,  is  doubtful. 

1.  On  Selophehad's  genealogy  see  26^*^  n.  The  names  of 
his  daughters  (26^^  n.)  are  names  of  clans  or  places,  a  fact 
which  in  itself  is  sufficient  to  show  that  this  story  is  not  a 
historical  account  of  certain  individuals,  but  a  mode  of  raising 
a  legal  point. — 2.  Ele'azar  is  associated  with  Moses  as  in  26^ ; 
in  36^  he  is  not  mentioned. — 3f.  Selophehad's  daughters  plead 
that  there  was  no  moral  reason  why  Selophehad's  name  should 
perish ;  he  had  sinned,  it  was  true,  with  the  rest  of  the  people, 
and,  sharing  their  punishment,  had  died  during  the  forty  years' 
wandering  (14-^"^) ;  but  he  had  committed  no  exceptional  sin, 
such  as  participation  in  the  revolt  of  Korab  (c.  r6),  so  as  to 
merit  the  exceptional  punishment  of  the  destruction  of  his 
name.  The  passage  is  important  as  showing  thit  originally 
Korah's  company  was  not  exclusively  composed  of  Levites  ;  it 
is  assumed  here  that  the  Manassite  Selophehad  might  have 
been  a  member  of  it. — 4.  TV/iy  should  our  father's  name  be 
withdrawn  (ynjJ  (^  n.^  from  among  his  clan,  as  it  must  needs  be 
if  he  left  no  issue  who  could  perpetuate  it.  According  to  early 
custom  a  son  was  requisite  to  perpetuate  a  man's  name  (Dt. 
25^^-).  The  terms  of  the  question  imply  that  if  this  earlier 
custom  be  so  far  modified  as  to  allow  daughters  to  inherit, 
the  land  will  not  only  continue  in  the  possession  of 
Selophehad's  descendants,  but  also  in  his  clan  (nnSB^D) ;  and 
the  same  implication  is  present  in  the  request  give  us  a  posses- 
sion in  the  midst  of  otir  father' s  brothers,  i.e.  in  the  midst  of  our 
fellow-clansman.  The  case  raised  in  36^  is  at  present  ignored. 
— Give  unto  us\  in  f^  ('"i^n)  the  subj.  of  the  vb.  is  Moses  ;  in 
S  (iJn)  ffir  U  Moses  and  Ele'azar. — A  possessio7i\  the  term 
mnx  is  regularly  used  of  landed  possession ;  see  also  ■t^G^^-. — 


xwii.  I-I3  399 

5-8a.  Moses  refers  the  case  to  Yahweh  (cp.  9^  15^^  P,  Ex. 
18^^  E) ;  Yahweh  approves  the  plea,  and  commands  Moses  to 
grant  the  request  of  Selophehad's  daughters  and  to  promulgate 
a  general  law. — 8b-ll.  The  terms  of  the  law :  these  have  been 
summarised  above,  p.  396  f. 

1.  ^^I?H']  ^^^^  name  must  be  a  compound.  Nold.  {Untersuchiingen,  89) 
proposed  "inj  h^i  ;  cp.  &  'ZaXiraaS  ;  then  for  the  use  of  Ss,  cp.  14^  n.  and  the 
names  of  Silbel,  king-  of  Gaza  (Schrader,  COT.  162),  Sili-Istar  (Hommel, 
Anc.  Heb.  Trad.  302).  nna  in  this  case  refers  to  a  deity :  cp.  Gn.  31*^. — 
2.  '?3i]  G  S  +  '^a'ji.— 3.  no  (2)]  S  +  ly^N.— 7.  mm  .  .  .  pj  36',  Ex.  lo^^.— □n'? 
C.T3N  .  .  .]  S  and  some  Heb.  MSS.  [.ran  .  ,  .  \rh  ;  the  forms  at  the  end  of 
the  V.  in  |f;J  are  fem.  For  the  masc.  forms  see  Dav.  i  R.  3. — ^  .  .  .  m^ym] 
with  a  secular  reference  only  here  and  in  v.^ ;  h  Tayn  is  used  several  times 
of  religious  devotion  (^.^.  Ex.  13''^,  Jen  32^^).  8.  niD'  o  b"n]  5^  n. — 9.  vnx/] 
C  rriN^  ;  so  in  v.^"  ffi  reads  'nxS  for  \-n^  (Jl^)  :  cp.  ina,  na  in  v. 8'-  (pJ) ;  but 
cnN  v.^"*^'  justifies  the  plurals  of  MT.  here  and  in  v.'". — 11.  nn'ni]  see  second 
phil.  n.  on  le^^*. — dee'D  npn]  35^^ — nro  nx  nw  nis  nrxa]  i'^  n. 

12-23  (P).  Moses,  bidden  to  prepare  for  death,  obtains  the 
appointment  of  his  successor,  Joshua. 

The  priestly  origin  of  the  section  is  clear :  note  the  parallelism  and 
connection  with  20'^-'''^  (P),  the  allusion  to  Ele'azar  and  numerous  points 
of  style,  e.g.  the  formulae  in  v.'^- -■^,  niy  (i^  n.),  TZV^^  (v.^"-^- ;  3"  n.),  fjD.x: 
rcy  bx.  The  parallels  are  in  D,  Dt.  3"3-2s  31I-7;  in  JE,  Dt.  si^'-^s.  On 
the  relation  of  these  to  one  another  and  to  the  present  passage,  see  Driver, 
Deut.  pp.  61,  337-339- 

The  death  of  Moses,  unlike  that  of  Aaron  (ao^'^'*'^),  is  not 
recorded  immediately  after  the  divine  command  to  prepare  for 
it ;  on  the  other  hand,  between  the  command  and  the  record 
of  the  death  (Dt.  c.  34)  there  now  intervene  the  last  nine 
chapters  of  Nu.  and  the  whole  of  Dt.  The  insertion  of  Dt.  and 
much  of  Nu.  c.  28-36  is  due  to  the  compiler  of  the  Hexateuch 
(Introd.  §  12).  Consequently,  in  P^  the  record  of  the  death 
was  separated  from  the  present  narrative  by  little  more  than 
some  instructions  given  by  Moses  to  Joshua.  This  being  the 
case,  it  is  improbable  that  the  command  of  v.^-~^*  was  repeated 
in  an  expanded  form  by  the  original  writer;  and,  therefore, 
either  v.^^"^*  or  Dt.  32^*^2  ^tj^e  amplified  command)  was 
inserted  by  an  editor. 

The  origniality  of  the  repetition  becomes  more  defensible  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  matter  admitted   to   have  intervened  :  cp.  We.    Comp.^ 


400  NUMBERS 

1 15  ;  Dr.  Deui.  383.  Whether  the  present  passage  is  an  abbreviation  of  Dt. 
22*8-52  ^vhich  originally  stood  here  (Di.,  CH.),  or  the  latter  an  expansion  of 
the  former  {e.g.  Bacon),  is  uncertain.     See,  further.  Driver  as  just  cited. 

12  f.  The  extent  to  which  these  verses  have  been  verbally 
incorporated  in,  or  derived  from,  the  longer  account  in  Dt. 
22*8-50  may  be  seen  from  the  following'  translation  in  which  the 
words  reappearing-  in  Dt.  are  italicised,  '■'■  And  Yahweh  said 
unto  Moses,  Go  tip  into  this  mountain  of  the  'Abdrim,  and  see  the 
land  which  I  have  given  to  the  children  oj  Israel ;  and  thou 
shalt  see  it,  and  thou  also  shalt  he  gathered  to  thy  kinsmen,  as 
Aaroii  thy  brother  was  gathered.''''  On  the  'Abdrim,  see  21^^  n.; 
the  particular  peak  intended  is  Mt.  Nebo  (Cr ;  Dt.  32^^  34^)  ; 
with  be  gathered  to  thy  kiyisvie^i,  cp.  20^^  n.  See,  further,  on  the 
matter  common  to  these  verses  and  Dt.,  Driver,  Dent.  383  f. — 
14.  The  sin  of  Moses  and  Aaron  at  Kadesh  (20^"^^),  here 
described  as  rebellion,  is  the  reason  why  both  alike  had  to  die 
before  the  land  of  promise  was  reached.  In  substance  the  v. 
agrees  with  Dt.  32^^,  but  the  verbal  agreement  is  less  than  in 
the  preceding  verses.  On  the  various  descriptions  of  the  sin 
of  Moses  and  Aaron,  see  above,  pp.  261  f.,  263. — In  the  strife\ 
biniribath,  a  play  on  the  first  part  of  the  name  Meribath-' 
Kadesh  =  the  strife  of  Kadesh.  See,  further,  the  notes  on 
bt.  32^1. 

12.  nr^  '?.x  •"'  -cxi)  S  -c.x'?  nirs  '^s  <"•  -.zt\  ;  cp.  Dt.  32«.  But  a  divine 
command  is  also  introduced  as  here  in  |t^  by  the  simple  ^n  tdn  even  in  Pk  : 
see  Gn.  17I,  Ex.  7I9  S^^  9^  xt!^  142s.— "rxncy'  ':iaS)  (S  +  ninNV:  cp.  Dt.  32«  — 
13.  IT'n]  ffi  +  inn  n.i3  ;  cp.  Dt.  32*. — 14.  'Jts-npn'?  .  .  .  's]  the  words  must  be 
closely  connected  {My  coimnandment  to  sanctify  Me)  though  the  inter- 
vening clauses  make  this  awkward.  '':ntnpn  kVi  would  be  simpler  ;  but  it  is 
precarious  to  infer  from  Ct  S  U  that  they  had  such  a  reading  before  them. 

15-17.  Moses  asks  Yahweh  to  appoint  his  successor,  that 
the  community  may  not  be  left  leaderless  at  his  death. — 16. 
God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh\  16-^  n. — 17.  MHio  may  go  otit  .  .  . 
and  come  in  before  theni\  man  goes  out  to  business  (Ps.  104^) : 
to  go  out  and  come  in  is  an  idiomatic  way  of  expressing  activity 
in  general  by  reference  to  its  commencement  and  conclusion 
(cp,  Dt.  28^,  Zech.  8^**,  Ps.  121^),  and  is  a  ns2is  logtiendi  similar 
in  character  to  the  frequent  Semitic  periphrases  for  all  which 
consist  of  two  terms  for  opposed  classes :  for  example,  the 


XXVII.  i2-i3  401 

Jettered  and  the  free,  the  diy  and  the  thirsty,  the  hinder  and  iht 
bound  (see  Driver,  Dent.  376).  Moses,  therefore,  bag's  that 
his  successor  may  initiate  all  the  undertaking's  of  the  people 
and  see  them  throug'h.  The  phrase  to  go  in  and  go  out  may 
have  a  specific  reference,  as,  for  example,  to  military  duties 
(i  S.  i8i3. 16.  cp.  I  S.  296)  or  to  others  (2  K.  ii^,  i  Ch.  27^); 
but  nothing'  in  the  present  context  sug'gests  any  such  limita- 
tion ;  cp.  rather  Jos.  14^^,  Dt.  31-^-,  i  K.  3''',  2  Ch.  i^*'. — As 
slieep  that  have  no  shepherd^  i  K.  22^'^. — 18-21.  Moses  is  bidden 
solemnly  to  appoint  Joshua  as  his  successor.  Joshua  has  been 
previously  mentioned  in  P's  narrative  only  in  connection  with 
the  spying  out  of  Canaan,  13s- 1<5  j ^6.  so.  38  26^^. — A  man  in 
7vho}n  is  spirit]  i.e.  a  man  already  possessed  of  spirit  (mi) ;  the 
term  is  not  used  specifically  of  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  but 
rather  of  capacity;  cp.  Gn.  41^^.  Dt.  34^  is  rather  more  ex- 
plicit :  Joshua  is  described  as  "  full  of  the  spirit  of  wisdom." — 
And  rest  thine  hand  upon  him]  The  custom  of  placing  the  hand 
on  a  person  at  solemn  moments  was  ancient  (Gn.  48^*  J) ;  but 
the  phrase  used  here  is  peculiar  to  P  and  2  Ch.  29^^.  A  fuller 
form  of  the  phrase,  to  rest  (IDD)  the  hand  (l*),  or  hands,  upon 
the  head  of,  is  invariably  used  in  P  in  the  frequent  cases  In 
which  the  subject  is  a  sacrificial  animal ;  once  also  where  the 
object  is  personal  (Lev.  24") ;  but  in  every  other  case  where 
the  object  is  personal,  the  abbreviated  phrase  to  rest  the  hand[s.) 
upon  is  employed  (Nu.  8^<*  (ct.  v.^^j  2718-  23^  Dt.  34^) ;  and  this 
also  occurs  once  where  the  object  is  a  sacrificial  animal  (2  Ch. 
29^).  Whether  one  or  two  hands  was  used  in  the  rite  s 
uncertain  :  see  phil.  n.  The  significance  of  the  rite  is  also 
difficult  to  determine :  possibly  it  was  not  the  same  in  all  the 
very  different  cases  in  which  it  was  employed — in  the  sacrifice 
of  animal  victims,  before  a  blessing  (Gn.  48^*),  accompanying 
a  solemn  protestation  against  a  person  (Lev.  24^*,  Susanna 
v.^*),  or  in  the  transference  of  power  on  admission  to  ofiice. 
In  the  present  and  similar  cases  the  action  seems  an  obviously 
appropriate  symbol  of  the  transference  of  ofiice,  whether  or  not 
magical  efficacy  was  originally  attributed  to  the  act  on  such 
occasions.  Later  the  action  was  regularly  employed  in  the 
admission  of  men  to  an  order ;  cp.  in  NT.  Ac.  6",  and  the  use 
26 


402  NUMBERS 

of  ^!3D  or  naJDD  in  the  Mishnah  for  the  act  of  admitting  to  the 
position  of  Rabbi  (Levy,  Neic.-hebr.  Worierbuch,  iii.  542,  545). 
For  discussions  of  the  significance  of  the  act,  see  Bahr,  Sym- 
bolik,  ii.  306  f.,  338-343. — 19.  Commission  Mm]  cp.  Dt.  3^  (D). 
— 20.  And  thou  shalt  put  some  of  thy  majesty  upon  him]  by 
pubHcly  declaring  (v.^^)  Joshua  his  successor  (cp.  v.^^^-)  Moses 
is  to  confer  on  him  some  (|0,  cp.  1 1^)  of  the  majesty  with  which 
he  has  himself  been  clothed  in  virtue  of  his  authority,  so  that 
Joshua,  being  also  magnified  in  the  people's  sight  (cp.  i  Ch. 
29^5),  may  receive  their  obedience,  lin,  which  is  used  of  the 
majesty  of  the  king  (Ps.  21^  45^,  Jer.  22^^),  occurs  here  only  in 
the  Hexateuch. — 21.  The  position  of  Joshua  is  to  be  less 
exalted  than  had  been  that  of  Moses :  Moses  received  instruc- 
tions from  Yahweh  direct  (<?.^.  v.^--  ^^  and  passim  in  P),  Joshua 
is  to  obtain  them  through  the  priest,  and  the  priest  in  his  turn 
by  use  of  the  Urim^  or  sacred  lot  (Ex.  2^^,  Lev.  8^).  Once, 
however,  in  the  subsequent  narrative  of  P,  Yahweh  speaks  to 
Joshua  direct  (Jos.  20^). — At  his  command]  the  pronoun  refers 
to  Ele'azar ;  Joshua  is  actually  to  lead  the  people,  but  the 
priest  is  to  instruct  him  when  and  how. — 23.  At  the  end  of  the 
v.  S  adds,  And  He  said  unto  him.  Thine  eyes  are  those  that  saw 
what  Yahweh  did,  and  so  forth,  as  Dt.  3^"- ;  cp.  Introd.  §  1417. 

18.  ITTX  nrMi]  as  ag^alnst  the  sing',  here  (in  |§  S  ;  ffi  has  pi.),  see  v.^, 
Dt.  34"  where  the  pi.  is  used  in  ?^  and  <&,  the  sing,  in  S.  In  blessing 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh  Jacob  laid  one  hand  on  each  (Gn.  48^^).  With 
this  conflict  of  evidence  the  question  of  the  use  of  one  or  two  hands  in  the 
rite  as  applied  to  persons  must  remain  an  open  one,  unless  it  be  assumed 
that  it  must  have  been  the  same  as  in  the  sacrificial  rite.  In  allusions  to 
the  sacrificial  rite,  the  pi.  hands  is  naturally  us^d  where  the  subj.  is  pi. 
(Ex.  29!"- 15- 18,  Lev.  4"  8"-  18-  22  24",  Nu.  8i«-  ^-),  but  where  the  subj.  is  sing. 
(Lev.  I*  3-*  ^"  ^^  ^'  ^'  ^-  ^^  16'^)  the  sing,  hand  is  always  used  except  in 
Lev.  le'^'  (KVe  vt  'ntv ;  ©abl  om.  Tib-),  and  even  there  the  K'tib  has  the 
sing.  (it).  The  evidence  thus  points  strongly  to  the  use  of  the  single  hand 
in  the  sacrificial  rite. — 21.  "h  !?.\a']  cp.  i  S.  22^'**  i^-i*;  with  the  following  3, 
cp.  Ezek.  21^^ 

XXVin.-XXX.   \.—A  Scale  of  Public  Offerings, 

The  purpose  of  the  present  section  is  to  define  the  quanti- 
ties of  the  periodical  (28^  2(f'^)  public  offerings;   incidentally  It 


XXVII.  19-XXVIII.  403 

also,  and  of  necessity,  contains  a  list  of  the  Jewish  fixed  feasts 
or  sacred  seasons. 

The  section  is  clearly  derived  from  P,  yet  scarcely  from  P", 
for  it  stands  in  no  organic  connection  with  the  Priestly  narra- 
tive.    It  is  not  improbably  post-Ezran  in  origin  (P""), 

The  connection  with  Lev.  23  (P),  the  allusions  to  15^'^^  (P)  in  29'**  ^^-  -*■ 
27. 30. 37^  the  fixed  quantities  and  fixed  dates,  the  definition  of  the  months 
throughout  by  number  (Dr.  L.O.  T.  156),  and  the  constant  use  of  .^mD  with 
the  meaning-  of  meal-offering  (16'^  n.),  all  point  to  P.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  attempts  to  connect  the  section  with  the  preceding  or  following  narra- 
tive have  been  unsuccessful.  Rosenmiiller,  for  example,  suggested  that 
the  section  is  placed  here  because  the  people,  enriched  by  the  cattle  of  the 
vanquished,  would  soon  be  in  a  position  to  carry  out  the  requirements  of 
these  laws.  There  are  stylistic  peculiarities  in  the  chapters  (see  note  on 
28'--  ^''  29^  and  the  last  n.  on  28'),  but  these  do  not  necessarily  point  to  P^ ; 
nor  does  28",  which  has  every  appearance  of  having  been  interpolated  in 
the  completed  section  (see  n.).  So  also  some  of  the  other  arguments 
adduced  by  Nold.  (89  f.),  Kue.  {Hex.  98,  299),  and  CH.  in  favour  of  pos- 
teriority appear  to  the  present  writer  to  point  only  to  difference  of  origin. 
Indications  of  posteriority  are  to  be  found  in  the  historical  presuppositions, 
rather  than  in  the  literary  characteristics  and  relations  of  the  chapters. 

As  a  systematic  table  of  quantities  of  the  public  offerings 
required  at  regularly-recurring  periods  the  present  section  has 
no  parallel  in  the  Hexateuch.  Ezek.  45^^-46''^  contains  some- 
thing similar,  though  there  it  is  required  that  the  prince  should 
provide  the  offerings  (45^^)  and  offer  them  on  behalf  of  the 
people. 

There  are  scattered  allusions  to  some  of  the  quantities  here  required 
(15'''',  Ex.  29^*'*^,  Lev.  23'^*  ^*'2'') ;  and  other  quantities  are  frequently  pre- 
scribed ;  but  these  are  either  of  the  offerings  of  individuals  (Lev.  c.  1-7),  or 
of  public  offerings  not  made  on  a  fixed  occasion  (Lev.  4'^"-!).  The  scattered 
allusions  to  the  quantities  of  the  fixed  public  offerings  may  be  derived 
from  this  section  ;  for  this  section  is  scarcely  even  in  part  (for  it  cannot  be 
wholly)  based  on  them.  In  the  main  the  present  table  must  either  be 
based  on  lost  documents,  or  contain  the  original  statement  of  the  actual 
praxis  of  the  author's  time,  or  of  his  theory  of  what  that  praxis  should  be. 

But  the  framework  of  the  section,  consisting  of  the  defini- 
tions of  the  sacred  seasons,  is  to  a  large  extent  identical  with 
parts  of  Lev.  23.  Lev.  23  now  consists  of  a  combination  of 
H  and  P  with  some  subsequent  additions  (P').  It  is  by  no 
means  clear  that  28'^"'  is  based  on  Lev.  23^^-  -"  (H) ;  if  it  is  not, 
there  is  nothing  common  to  Nu.  28  f.  and  the  parts  of  Lev.  23 


404  NUMBERS 

derived  from  H,  and  it  is  improbable  that  Nu.  28 f.  is  based 
on  Lev.  22.  The  presence  of  the  common  matter  might  be 
explained  as  due  to  Lev.  23  being  based  on  Nu.  28  f.,  or  more 
probably  by  both  Lev.  2^  and  Nu.  28  f.  being  based  on  a  now 
lost  festal  calendar.  Note  that  28^^  is,  strictly  speaking,  out 
of  place  here,  since  no  quantity  is  prescribed  for  passover. 

The  corresponding  ]iarts  of  the  two  sections  are  as  follow  :— 
Lev.  235-8   =  Nu.  aS'^i'^-  ^s. 
2-21     _         28^'' 

»     2y''-  =  „    29"-. 

The  ag^reement  is  for  the  most  part  close  and  verbal,  though  the  clauses 
in  some  cases  are  differently  arranged.  The  variations  are  mainly  due  to 
the  greater  brevity  of  Nu.:  thus  the  names  of  the  feasts  are  absent  from 
28"  29^^,  towards  evening  from  28'®,  it  is  the  Day  of  Atonement,  and  Lev. 
2^285  fj-om  29'''*.  The  only  noticeable  addition  in  Nu.  is  that  of  nViy  to 
HB'S  in  28^*  29*-  ^-.  The  resemblance  of  Nu.  28-^"  to  Lev.  23^®*  -"  (H)  is  com- 
paratively slight ;  but  it  must  be  noticed  that  28^®  is  the  sole  exception  in 
the  section  to  the  definition  of  the  season  by  the  number  of  the  day  and 
the  month. 

So  far  as  the  occasions  are  concerned,  the  8th  day  of  the 
autumn  festival  (29^,  ct.  Dt.  \Q^-  ^^)  and  the  Day  of  Atonement 
(29'^"^'^)  point  to  a  post-exilic  date  for  this  section,  and  the 
latter  possibly  to  the  post-Ezran  period,  since  it  is  not  clear 
that  the  celebration  of  the  Day  of  Atonement  on  the  loth  day 
of  the  7th  month  (ct.  Neh.  9^)  is  as  ancient  as  Ezra.  The 
remaining  occasions,  apart  from  the  fact  that  they  are  fixed 
for  definite  days  (see  below,  p.  407),  do  not  point  to  even  a 
relatively  late  date.  A  daily  off"ering  of  some  kind  was  offered 
before  the  Exile  (see  below),  and  "the  beginnings  of  the  month," 
or  "days  of  new  moon,"  were  from  a  very  early  period  re- 
garded as  sacred  (see  on  28^^).  The  other  occasions  mentioned 
here  are  also  mentioned  in  Lev.  23  ;  and  for  a  fuller  discussion 
of  them,  as  also  of  the  8th  day  of  the  autumn  festival  and  the 
Day  of  Atonement,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  commentary 
on  Leviticus. 

But  the  quantities  required  in  the  table  point  as  a  whole  to 
the  later  development  of  Jewish  religion. 

The  simple  fact  that  quantities  are  fixed  distinguishes  this 


xxviii.-xxx.  405 

law  from  the  earlier  codes  ;  see  the  remarks  following  the  table 
below.  The  first  specification  of  quantities  for  public  sacri- 
fices is  found  in  Ezeklel,  who  fixes  the  quantities  for  the  daily, 
sabbatical,  and  monthly  sacrifices,  and  also  for  the  offerings 
made  at  the  spring  and  autumn  festivals.  These  quantities  are 
not  the  same  as  those  here  given  (see  table  below) ;  a  mere 
comparison  of  the  two  tables  scarcely  proves  P's  posterior  to 
Ezekiel's,  but  that  it  is  so  may  be  assumed  in  view  of  the 
wider  arguments  for  the  posteriority  of  P  to  Ezekiel.* 

Only  in  the  case  of  the  daily  offering  can  the  history  of  the 
determination  of  the  quantity  be  somewhat  more  closely  fol- 
lowed. And  unfortunately  even  in  this  case  the  most  crucial 
passage  (Neh.  10^*  ^^^^)  is  not  entirely  free  from  obscurity.  But 
if,  as  seems  to  the  present  writer  most  probable,  it  implies  that 
the  daily  offering  included  only  one  burnt-oftering,  the  present 
law  originated  at  some  time  between  Ezra  and  the  Chronicler, 
or  the  date  of  ffi,  and  probably,  therefore,  at  some  time  in  the 
4th  cent.  B.C. 

Before  the  Exile  the  daily  offering-  consisted  of  a  n^ij;  in  the  morning:  and 
a  HTOD  in  the  evening  (2  K.  16^^ :  cp.  i  K.  iS"'-  ^).  Ezekiel  also  requires 
one  n'?ij;  and  one  nn:a  (clearly  a  meal-offering)  to  be  offered  every  day,  but 
requires  both  to  be  offered  in  the  morning.  Neh.  10^'*  (^^'  still  speaks  of  a 
daily  nmo  and  a  daily  nViy  ;  it  does  not  specify  the  time  of  offering,  and  it 
■  is  therefore  uncertain  whether  in  this  respect  it  agreed  with  2  K.  16^^  or 
Ezek. ;  but  in  common  with  both  of  these  it  co-ordinates  the  n'jiv  and 
nn:o.  The  present  law  (Nu.  28^'^)  requires  t^vo  n"?!!'  daily,  one  in  the  morn- 
ing and  one  in  the  evening,  and  also  two  nn^D ;  but  the  nnjD  is  in  each  case 
subor dictated  to  the  n'jiy.  In  the  time  of  the  Chronicler  (i  Ch.  16*",  2  Ch. 
i^ii  21^)  and  later  {Tamid  iv.  i)  two  burnt-offerings,  one  in  the  morning 
and  one  in  the  evening,  were  actually  offered. 

Some  have  thought  that  the  singular  nViy  in  Neh.  10^*  may  cover  the 
double  offering  of  this  law,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  singular  is  used 
even  here  in  allusion  to  the  daily  offering  (28^"  and  often,  TDnn  rhy).  But 
the  difference  between  the  co-ordination  and  subordination  of  the  nn:a 
remains.  Ezr.  9^'-,  however,  is  quite  inconclusive  ;  the  practice  of  offering 
a  nn:D  in  the  evening  was  the  cause  of  "the  time  of  the  nnoD"  becoming 
a  term  for  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  but  the  phrase  continued  in  use  long 
after  the  nma  had  ceased  to  be  characteristic  of  the  evening  ;  see  Dan.  9-', 
and  cp.  the  antithesis  in  the  Mishnah  between  'iV.a  vhtn  {  =  moming-prayer) 
and  nmcn  'n  {  =  evening-prayer) ;  see  Ber.  iv.  i  ;  Fes.  x.  i,  and  Levy, 
Neu.-hebr.  Worterbuch,  s.v.  nnJD. 

•  Driver,  L.O.T.  139 ff. 


4o6 


NUMBERS 


Lambs. 

Rams. 

Bullocks.       Gc 

.         . 

2(1) 

... 

, 

2(6) 

o'(0 

... 

. 

7(6) 

'(0 

2(1)     I 

f    IStj 

7(o) 

'(7) 

2(7)             , 

7 

I 

2                  1 

7 

1 

I             1 

7 

1 

1              I 

14(0) 

2(7) 

■3(7)         ' 

14(0) 

2(7) 

12(7)         . 

14(0) 

2(7) 

11(7)         I 

14(0) 

2(7) 

10  (7)         I 

14(0) 

2(7) 

9(7)         I 

14(0) 

2(7) 

8(7)         I 

14(0) 
7 

2(7) 

I 

7(7)         ' 
I               I 

(0 


The  numbers  of  the  animals  required  by  this  law  for  the 
several  public  offering's,  with  the  occasions  on  which  they 
were  offered,  are  given  in  the  subjoined  table,  in  which  the 
bracketed  figures  are  those  required  by  Ezekiel  (46^^"^^-  *'•  ^^- 

Occasion. 
Each  day  (aS^-s)       . 
Each  sabbath  (289^-) 
ist  of  each  month  (28'^"^') 
Each  day  from  15th  to  21st  of 
month  (2816-25-)       ^ 

Day  of  first-fruits  (iS^s-^i) 
ist  of  7th  month  (29'"*)  . 
loth     „  „       (29'-") 

15th  „ 
i6th  ,, 
17th  ,, 
iSlh  „ 
19th  ,, 
20th  ,, 
21st  ,, 
22nd    ,, 

Wine,  oil,  and  meal  are  required  with  each  of  these  animals, 
according  to  the  scale  of  15^"^^. 

The  offerings  are  cumulative :  for  example,  the  sabbath 
offering  is  z'n  addition  to  the  daily  offering  (28^"),  the  special 
offering  on  the  ist  of  the  7th  month  additional  both  to  the 
daily  offering  and  to  that  required  for  the  first  of  each 
month  {29^). 

The  animals  required  are  in  all  cases  males.  The  lambs, 
rams,  and  bullocks  are  offered  as  burnt-offerings,  the  goats  as 
sin-offerings. 

The  sacred  number  7  (23^  n.)  is  very  prominent.  In 
addition  to  what  is  obvious  in  the  above  table,  note  the 
accumulation  of  special  occasions  in  the  7th  month,  and  the 
special  character  (implied  by  the  special  offerings)  of  the  ist 
day  of  that  month,  the  seven-day  duration  of  each  of  the  two 
great  festivals  in  the  ist  and  7th  month  respectively  (28^' 
29^2) ;  and,  further,  that  the  descending  numerical  series  of 
bullocks  required  for  the  autumn  (7th  month)  feast  yields  the 
total  70,  and  that  thus  the  total  number  of  victims  offered  on 


XXVIII.  I,  2  407 

the  seven  days  of  this  feast  is  7  x  7  X  2  lambs,  7x7  rams, 
7  X  10  bullocks,  7  g-oats. 

These  fixed  quantities,  and  this  fixing  of  the  festivals  on 
fixed  days  in  particular  months,  separate  these  regulations 
from  the  practice  in  early  Israel,  which  was  preserved  in  the 
main  as  late  as  Dt.  Earlier  practice  fixed  the  festivals  with 
reference  to  agricultural  operations,  which,  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  varied  to  the  extent  of  some  days  in  different  years 
(Dt.  i5^,  Ex.  23^^  34^")'  The  quantity  offered  at  these  feasts 
was  left  to  individual  discretion,  with  the  exhortation  that  it 
should  be  "according  to  the  blessing  of  Yahweh  .  .  .  which 
He  hath  given"  (Dt.  i6^''-  ^'').  A  further  marked  difference  in 
character  between  the  earlier  festivals  and  those  here  regulated 
appears  in  the  nature  of  the  sacrifices.  The  sacrifices  here 
required,  alike  for  the  old  festivals  and  for  the  great  fast-day, 
the  "  Day  of  Atonement,"  are  exclusively  hiimt-offerings  and 
sin-offerings',  individuals,  if  they  liked,  might  offer  '*  vows  and 
freewill  offerings"  (29^^),  but  the  obligatory  offerings  are 
those  which  were  made  over  entirely  to  the  deity,  and  in 
which  the  laity  had  no  share.  On  the  other  hand,  the  earlier 
codes  never  mention  offerings  of  this  kind  in  connection  with 
the  festivals,  and  the  offerings  which  actually  give  their 
joyous  character  to  the  occasions  are  peace-offerings — offer- 
ings which  formed  the  material  for  sacrificial  meals  in  which 
ail,  priests  and  laity  alike,  partook  (see  Dt.  16^"^'^,  with 
Driver's  notes).  At  the  earlier  festivals  the  \a\iy  participate 
in  the  fullest  measure  in  the  celebrations ;  on  the  occasions 
here  regulated  they  are  mere  onlookers',  they  are  required  to 
abstain  from  work  and  generally  to  form  a  sacred  gathering, 
but  the  actual  celebrations  are  confined  to  the  priests. 

XXVIII.  1  f.  Introductory  command. — The  offerings  are  to 
be  offered  at  the  times  fixed. 

8.  My  ohlation\  \1~\p  is  confined  to  P  (78  times)  and  Ezek. 
20-^  40*^  (CH.  118).  The  addition  in  the  present  instance  of 
an  objective  suffix  {iny)  referring  to  God  is  peculiar ;  yet  see 
g7.i3  3i5o  (p)^  Lev.  23I*  (H);  ct.  Lev.  17*  2f-^^.  Generally 
the  suffix  is  subjective,  and  refers  to  the  person  who  makes 
tiie   offering. — My  food\    Ezek.  44''  (Ezek.   16^*  is  different). 


408  NUMBERS 

Cp.  the  food  of  thy  God  (Lev.  2i«-8-i7.2if.  2325  (H)):  also  v.'-*, 
Lev.  3^^-  ^^,  Mai.  i*^.  The  description  of  the  sacrifices  as  the 
food  of  God  is  a  survival  "in  the  ancient  technical  lang^uage 
of  the  priestly  ritual "  *  of  the  primitive  conception  that  the 
gods  ate  and  drank  (Jud.  9^^).  RV.  (marg.)  "my  bread" 
is  a  doubtful  limitation ;  DH?,  it  is  true,  means  bread,  some- 
times even  in  contradistinction  to  other  foods  {e.g.  i  S.  25^^, 
I  K  17^) ;  but  it  is  also  used  in  the  wider  sense  of  food 
(i  S.  14^*,  Jud.  13^^,  I  K.  5^) ;  this  sense  is  probably  original; 
subsequently  the  word  acquired  mostly  the  specific  sense  of 

bread  in  Hebrew,  o^  flesh  in  Arabic  (*^). — My  fire-offerings] 

see  15^°  n.  and  phil.  n.  on  15'.  For  the  suffix  {-tny),  cp.  Lev. 
610(17)  (1^^^  not  S  (Si).— My  odour  of  rest]  158  n.  The  suffix  here 
also  is  most  unusual ;  in  the  other  instances  in  which  a  suffix 
is  used  with  this  phrase  (Ezek.  20-^,  Lev.  26^^),  it  refers  to 
those  who  make  the  odour. — Ye  shall  observe  to  present] 
peculiar  in  P  ;  cp.  the  frequently  recurring  Deuteronomic  ex- 
pression observe  to  do  (GH.  82°  ;  Driver,  Deut.  p.  Ixxxiii). 

3-8.  The  daily-  (or  perpetual-)  offering.— Gp.  Ex.  2933-42 : 
on  the  relation  between  the  two  passages  and  on  the  history 
of  the  daily-offering,  see  above.  The  daily-offering  consists 
of  an  offering  made  in  the  morning  and  another  made  bet'ween 
the  evenings,  i.e.  in  the  afternoon  or  evening.  Each  consists 
of  a  yearling  he-lamb  presented  as  a  burnt-offering,  together 
with  yV  ephah  of  fine  meal,  \  hin  of  oil,  and  \  hin  of  wine : 
cp.  I5*^'.  The  daily-offering  formed  the  central  and  most 
important  part  of  the  Jewish  cultus :  its  cessation  was  most 
deeply  felt  (Dan.  8^^"^^  ii^^  12^^),  and  counted  as  one  of  the  five 
great  calamities  that  happened  on  the  17th  of  Tammuz.  The 
circumstances  attending  the  offering  in  later  times  are  fully 
described  in  Tamid,  of  which  a  summary  is  given  by  Schiirer 
[GfV.^W.  294-298 ;  Eng.  tr.  11.  i.  292-297). — 3.  This  is  the  fire- 
offering  which  ye  shall  present]  the  Israelites  as  a  community 
raised  the  money  required  for  the  offering :  Neh.  lo^"^-;  Jos.^«/. 
iii.  10^. — A  continual  burnt-offering]  The  abbreviated  form  for 
the  offering,  the  contijiual  (T'Onn),  occurs  in  the  late  book  of 

*  W.  R.  Smith,  Religion  of  the  Semites,^  207,  ^224  ;  cp.  KAT,^  594  *"• 


XXVIIL  3-9  409 

Daniel  (8*^-  "•  ^^  1 1^^  12"  ;  cp.  Sir.  45^^),  and  gives  its  title  to  the 
tractate  of  the  Mishnah  which  deals  with  the  daily-ofiering-. — 
4.  Deiiveen  the  evenings\  g^n. — 5.  7a.  Cp.  15^- — 6.  An  allusion 
back  to  Ex.  29^^-  ;  but  between  v.^  and  v.^,  which  are  really 
continuous,  v.^  is  out  of  place,  and  in  all  probability  a  gloss. — 
In  Mount  Smai\  3^  n. — 7b.  Not  found  in  Ex.  29,  and  perhaps 
even  here  a  gloss. — The  sanctuary']  18^  n.  Here  the  court 
where  the  altar  stood  may  be  intended  (cp.  Ezek.  44^'^,  Ex. 
28*^) ;  for  the  wine  of  the  libation,  according  to  Ecclus.  50^^, 
was  poured  out  at  the  base  of  the  altar ;  cp.  Jos.  Ant.  iii.  9^. 
Str.  thinks  that  the  outer  chamber  of  the  tent,  where  the 
vessels  used  in  libations  were  kept  (Ex.  25-^),  is  intended.- — 
Strong-  drink]  6^  n.  Since  In  all  other  cases  -tohie  is  required 
for  libations,  strong  drink  may  here  be  used  exceptionally  with 
reference  to  wine;  cp.,  however,  KATy^  600  [h'karu  used  in 
Babylonian  libations). 

2.  gh'Sk  r-CKi  ...  is]  34";  cp.  notes  on  s'-^.— d.t^k]  G  +  i.t'x'r. — *rxS] 
S  riz'uh. — njnoa]  S  inyioa  ;  cp.  S  U,  also  29^*  and  9-  n.  &  iv  rah  ioprah  fj.ov 
=  nj;isa. — 3.  Ton  n^y]  S  Tcn  nSy ;  cp.  Tonn  nhv  in  v.^"- ^^  etc.  |!j. — 4.  ina] 
see  16-^  n.  But  in.sn  (S  ;  cp.  v.^|Ej  and  Ex.  29^)  was  probably  the  original 
reading-,  since  '•ic-n  stands  in  the  next  clause. — 5.  ns-N.i  n'Trj;]  elsewhere 
throughout  the  section  (as  in  c.  15,  Ex.  29)  jiiB-y  is  used. — n'riD]  G  S  om. — 
6.  'j;n  "I'Dn  nhv]  Driver,  Tenses,  209  (2).  The  form  of  sentence  is  uncommon 
in  Ps  (see  Di.) ;  cp.  Ex.  38-'*  (P^). — n;:'n]  G  omits  this  word  here  and  in 
V.8;  S  omits  it  in  v.^'. — 7.  1:0:]  the  suffix  refers  to  022  :  so  in  v.^ :  but  in 
Ex.  the  fern,  suffix  refers  to  n'jiy. — Y^r:]  S  and  some  MSS.  of  (5  +  1";  so 
Paterson. 

9-XXIX.  38.  The  additional  offerings  to  be  made  on  special 
days  over  and  above  the  daily  offerings. — These  offerings 
were  In  later  Hebrew  termed  flDIC  additional.  The  Musdph 
was  offered  between  the  two  daily-offerings  {Siphre  on  v.^^) ; 
the  terms  of  28^^  suggest  that  it  was  to  be  offered  immediately 
after  the  daily  morning  offering. 

9  f.  The  sabbath-offering". — This  is  equal  In  amount  to  the 
daily-offering.  The  present  is  the  only  allusion  in  the 
Pentateuch  to  a  special  and  regularly  repeated  public  offering 
on  the  sabbath.  Whether  in  theory  or  practice  such  an  offer- 
ing was  earlier  in  date  than  Ezekiel  (46*^*),  and,  if  so,  how 
much,    cannot   be   determined.       In   the   time  of  Isaiah   the 


410  NUMBERS 

sabbath  was  frequently  chosen  for  presenting  sacrifices ;  but, 
to  judge  from  the  allusions  (Is.  i^^,  Hos.  2^^),  these  offerings 
were  not  specially  appointed,  and  the  circumstances  attending 
them  were  very  different  from  those  contemplated  in  this 
Law.  Evidence  of  the  actual  practice  of  this  law  is  confined  to 
post-exilic  times  (Neh.  10^,  2  Ch.  8^'  31^;  Jos.  Ant.  iii.  10^). 

11-15.  Tlie  offerings  on  the  first  day  of  each  month. — This 
law,  in  requiring  for  these  occasions  as  much  as  for  each  day 
of  the  great  spring  festival,  demands  more  than  Kzekiel  had 
done :  see  table. 

Not  only  is  the  quantity  of  this  ofTering'  nowhere  else  defined  in  the 
Pent,  (nor  at  all  in  the  OT.  except  in  E/cek.  46'"-),  but  the  celebration  of 
the  new  moon  is  never  mentioned  in  JE,  D,  or  H,  nor  elsewhere  in  P 
except  in  10^'^.  From  references  outside  the  Pent.,  however,  it  is  clear 
that  the  new  moon  was  in  early  times  an  important  festival  and  occasion 
of  sacrifice  (Is.  i'',  Hos.  2^,  Am.  8^  i  S.  20^*,  2  K.  4^3).  Possibly  as  a 
popular  festival  it  was  associated  with  heathen  practices,  and,  therefore, 
intentionally  ignored  by  the  early  lawgivers  (JE,  D).  It  may  have 
regained  its  place  in  this  later  law  partly  on  account  of  the  importance  of 
the  new  moon  in  fixing  the  calendar  and  the  due  succession  of  festivals, 
and  partly  in  accordance  with  the  tendency  to  preserve  but  transform, 
customs  that  had  a  great  hold  on  the  people  (see  p.  47  f.).  But  be  this  as 
it  may,  though  the  sacred  character  of  the  days  of  new  moon  is  ancient,  the 
specific  regulations  of  this  law  need  not  be.  Definite  allusions  to  these 
belong  to  the  post-exilic  literature  (.1  Ch.  23^',  2  Ch.  2^W  8^^  31^,  Ezr.  3'**-, 
Neh.  10^).  A  survival  of  what  was  probably  the  chief  celebration  of  the 
days  in  ancient  times  is  incidentally  referred  to  in  10^",  where  it  is  implied 
that  peace-offerings  (of  the  flesh  of  which  the  offerer  partook  at  the 
sacrificial  meal)  were  also  offered  on  these  days.  Later  allusions  to  the 
celebration  of  the  new  moons  are  Judith  8*,  Col.  2^^ ;  see,  further,  Nowack, 
Arch.  ii.  138-140;  We.  Prolcg:*  iiof. ;  Di.  Ex.  Lev.  p.  579 ff.  ;  "New 
Moon  "  in  EBi. 

12-1 4a.  Cp.  15^"^^. — 15.  The  sin-offering  required  at  the 
new  moons  and  on  other  occasions  (v.^-  ^"j  29^-  ^^-  ^^*-)  Is 
unknown  to  Ezekiel,  and  is  not  referred  to  in  the  subscription 
in  Lev.  23^''. — 16.  =  Lev.  23^ 

17-25.  The  special  offerings  on  the  15th  to  21st  of  the  1st 
month,  i.e.  on  each  day  of  the  Feast  of  Unleavened  Bread. 
17-19a.  =  Lev.  23<^. —19b-24.  The  offerings  are  to  be  of  the 
same  kind  and  amount  as  on  days  of  new  moon  (v.^^"^^). 
Ezekiel  (45^^)  requires  a  different  but  more  valuable  offering 
daily  during  the  feast  (see  table) :  but  it  has  been  questioned 


XXVIII.   ii-XXIX.  u  4J  I 

by  Corn,  whether  the  text  of  Ezek.  may  not  be  corrupt. — 
25.  =  Lev.  23S. 

26-31.  The  special  offering  at  the  Feast  of  Weeks.— The 
quantity  (v. 2^"^^)  is  the  same  as  in  the  two  preceding  cases. 
It  is  given  over  again  in  Lev.  23^^-  ^^*;  but  the  common  matter 
is  probably  inserted  there  from  this  passage.  The  original 
law  of  H  appears  to  have  required  only  two  he-lambs  as 
peace-offerings  {^^\ .  23^^^)  and  two  loaves  (v.^^).  See,  further, 
0.1  Dt.  i6^"^2  and  Lev.  23.  Ezekiel  omits  this  feast  altogether 
from  his  calendar. — 26.  On  the  relation  of  clause  a  to  Lev. 
23I6.20  (H^^  see  above;  clause  5  =  Lev.  2321  (P). — The  day  oj 
firstfnnts\  the  term  CilS^n  D1''  is  not  used  elsewhere.  It  is 
the  day  on  which  the  firstfruits  (D"'~i"i33,  e.g.  Lev.  23")  or 
"bread  of  firstfruits  "  (Q''l1D3n  nth  Lev.  23-°)  was  "brought  to 
Yahweh"  (18^2  n.).  The  festival  is  called  in  other  codes  the 
"feast  of  harvest  "(Ex.  23^*^  (E)),  or  "the  feast  of  weeks" 
(Ex.  34"  (J),  Dt.  16'*^) ;  the  latter  term  is  here  abbreviated 
into  at  your  weeks  {zyT.V'^Z''::^). — 26b.  =  Lev.  23^1. — 27.  See  next 
n. — 31.  Perfect  shall  they  be  nnto  you]  the  clause  has  been 
accidentally  transposed  from  the  end  of  v. 2'',  where  analogy 
(cp.  e.g.  v.^^)  requires  it.  S  (cp.  ffi)  has  the  words  both  in 
v.-^  and  v.^^.  ' 

XXIX.  1-6.  The  special  offering  of  the  1st  day  of  the  7th 
month. — 1.  =  Lev.  23-^^-.  —  The  day  of  trttmpet-bloiving]  the 
phrase  (npnnn  DV)  is  peculiar  to  Nu.,  though  Lev.  23-''  also 
refers  to  the  nyiin  (lo^^-).  The  offering  required  on  the 
seventh  new  moon  is  additional  to,  and  almost  of  the  same 
amount  as,  the  offering  for  an-ordinary  new  moon.  Thus  the 
seventh  new  moon  stands  to  ordinary  new  moons  much  as  the 
seventh  day  to  ordinary  days.  For  the  special  significance 
and  celebration  of  the  seventh  new  moon,  see  on  Lev.  23-*. 

7-11.  The  special  offering  of  the  10th  day  of  the  7th 
month,  i.e.  the  Day  of  Atonement  (Lev.  232").  Irrespective  of 
the  offerings  required  by  the  rites  described  in  Lev.  16, 
which  may  be  in  part  referred  to  here  in  the  phrase  the  sin- 
offering  of  atonement  (v.^\  cp.  Ex.  30^*^),  the  special  offering  is 
the  same  in  kind  and  character  as  the  special  offering  on  the 
first  day  of  this  month. — 7.  =  Lev.  23-"''. 


412  NUMBERS 

12-34.  The  special  offerings  of  the  15th  to  21st  of  the  7th 
month,  i.e.  during-  the  Feast  of  Booths  (Lev.  23^*).  On  the 
seven  days  of  the  autumn  festival  five  times  as  many  bullocks 
and  twice  as  many  rams  and  lambs  were  offered  as  on  the 
corresponding  days  (i5th-2ist  of  the  ist  month)  of  the  spring 
feast  (28^^"^^).  In  this  respect,  again,  the  law  differs  from 
Ezekiel,  who  requires  precisely  the  same  offerings  at  the 
autumn  as  at  the  spring  festival  (Ezek.  45-^).  See,  further, 
the  table  above  and  the  appended  notes. 

12.  =  Lev.  23^-. — 14  f.  It  is  probably  merely  an  accident 
that  all  allusion  to  the  libations  is  omitted  (in  f^,  but  cp.  S  at 
end  of  v.^^)  in  this  section.  In  subsequent  sections  [e.g.  v.^^) 
the  libations  are  mentioned. 

35-38.  Special  offering  of  the  8th  day,  Le.  the  22nd  of  the 
7th  month.  The  quantity  required  is  different  from  that  of 
the  special  offerings  made  on  the  first  seven  days  of  the  feast, 
and  the  same  as  that  required  on  the  ist  and  loth  days  of 
this  month. 

39.  Subscription. — The  foregoing  offerings  presented  by, 
and  on  behalf  of,  the  community  are  additional  to  any  private 
offerings  of  any  kind  that  may  be  offered  on  the  same  days. 

XXX.  1  (XXIX.  40).  Conclusion,  corresponding  to  28^*  2*. 

XXYIII.  9.  naB-n]  C5  +  7r/30(rd^eTe=i3npn :  cp.  v."  |tj.— 10.  wnra  raei  rh]i\ 
Siphre  interprets  thus  :  iJ^np  "723  Dvn  nnj;  dns7,  i.e.  if  for  any  reason  the 
sabbath-offering-  has  not  been  made  on  the  day,  it  cannot  be  made  on 
another  :  similarly  Rashi,  Str.,  and,  apparently,  Konigf,  iii.  p.  293  n.  i. 
Cp.  iav3  or  -ar^  Ex.  5'^  Marti  (on  Is.  66-^j  explains  rather  differently, 
giving  to  T\2X!  two  different  senses  :  then  translate,  the  'weekly-offering  on 
its  sabbath,  and  below  (v.^-*)  the  monthly-offering  on  its  new  tnoon.  This  is 
certainly  favoured  by  the  parallel  usage  in  Is.  Go'-^,  and  satisfactorily  ex- 
plains the  masc.  suffix  (nnr,  vm  being  masc,  but  n'^j?  fern.).  Otherwise  the 
masc.  suffix  must  be  explained  on  the  analogy  of  the  agreement  of  the 
pred.  with  the  gen.  of  a  compound  expression  (Dav.  116,  R.  2) ;  cp.  Kon. 
iii.  349A.  For  the  cstr.  form  T\zv,  cp.  i  Ch.  9^^  ;  Kon.  iii.  3372" ;  also,  in 
general,  G.-K.  §  130. — Vy]  in  addition  to;  so  v.'^*  ^'^  and  frequently  in  P 
(e.g.  6-",  Gn.  28^  Lev.  7^-).  In  v.^^  29^- "etc.,  hy  is  replaced  by  na'^a. — 
14.  I"]  Paterson  transposes  this,  and  places  it  after  the  first  pn  ;  S  reads  the 
word  in  both  places. — 17.  "j-.x'  mi;cj  so  Ex.  13^  ;  cp.  G.-K.  12 li.  S  ffi  read 
iS^NTi  nisn  in  agreement  with  Lev.  23^. — 18.  cnp]  G  +  dd^  .t.t  ;  so  Lev.  23' : 
and  in  this  c.  in  v."'  29^  etc.  I^. — 22.  ^^^•  n.\an  n^ys']  What  the  original 
variations  in  the  description  of  the  sin-offering  throughout  these  chapters 
may  have  been,  it  seems  impossible  to  say  ;  at  present  there  are  six  in  ^ 


XXIX.  I2-XXX.  4^3 

alone.  The  following'  statement  may  serve  as  an  illustration  of  variations 
in  ||J  (a  few  variant  readings  may  be  found  in  De  Rossi),  and  between  |^ 
S  and  ffir.     The  variations  are — 

1.  nxan"?  nnx  D'ly  ti^'  :  ^  28^5,  S  29",  G  and  S  2g^^- 1»-  ^  ^-  ^s-  "•  "•  sa. 

2.  TNcn  nnN  dmj;  Tifti- :  |t^  29"-  ^^*  ^''-  ■■^. 

3.  03'*?^  isj'?  nnt«  n.s'un  tj,''^  :  ^  28'--. 

4.  C3*'?y  is:"?  inx  d*ij;  TyB- :  ?^  28^. 

5.  D2'hv  •\33h  riNan  ^^N  q'tj;  tv'S'  :  11?  29'. 

6.  D3''?j;  nD^'?  riNDn'?  inx  dmj;  Tys" :  (5  29",  G  and  S  iS"'-  "^  29'. 

7.  nnx  nxan  tj-'B'  :  |tj  29---  -^-  ^>-  '^-  ^. 

XXIX.  9.  inun]  Paterson  omits  ;  see  his  note. — 13.  v.t  D'D*cn]  an  Inter- 
mediate form  between  the  full  Dz^  rn-  'n  (^.g.  v.^)  and  D'D'Dn  in  v."-  ^  etc.  ; 
see  Paterson. — 15.  S  rightly  adds  at  the  end  of  the  v.  D.TrDJi. — 19.  d.T3D3i] 
for  this  as  also  for  .T3D31  of  v."  restore  nsipj]  as  in  v."  and  other  allusions  to 
the  sin-offering. 


XXX.  2-17  (1-16).   Conditions  of  the  validity  of  a  Vow. 

Various  regulations  regarding-  vows  are  found  elsewhere 
(see  especially  Dt.  2319-  22*-,  Lev.  5^^-  and  c.  27  (P),  Nu.  6  (P)) ; 
but  the  conditions  of  the  validity  of  a  woman's  vow,  with 
which  this  law  is  almost  entirely  occupied,  are  treated  nowhere 
else. 

Points  of  style  like  "3  b"x  (v.'' ;  cp.  5"  n.),  nit:^  (v.'  ;  cp.  i''  n  ),  rs:  nu''? 
(v.";  CH.  20)  connect  the  section  with  P.  But  the  isolation  of  the  law 
and  some  stylistic  peculiarities  such  as  njx,  nn-j  ^r^n,  n£d3D  (see  notes  below 
on  v.*"'),  render  it  unlikely  that  it  is  the  work  of  P8^.  The  date  cannot  be 
accurately  determined,  but  the  law  may,  with  some  probability,  be  referred 
to  P^  on  account  of  its  approximation  in  style  and  treatment  to  the 
later  Rabbinic  discussions. 

The  Law  provides  that  a  man,  having  once  uttered  a  vow, 
is  unconditionally  bound  by  it  (v.^) ;  that  a  woman  widowed 
or  divorced  is  similarly  bound  (v.^°) ;  but  that  the  vow  of  an 
unmarried  woman  living  in  her  father's  house  (v.^~^),  or  of  a 
married  woman  (v.'^"^-  ^^"■^^),  is  subject  to  the  tacit  approval  of 
her  father  or  husband,  as  the  case  may  be.  In  either  case 
the  vow  is  valid  unless  objection  is  raised  on  first  hearing  of 
it.  If  the  husband,  after  hearing  of  the  vow  and  raising  no 
objection,  subsequently  annuls  it,  the  guilt  is  his  (v.^^). 

Rabbinic  discussions  on  the  regulations  of  this  c.  will  be 
found  in  Ncdnriin,  c.  lof. 


4  r  4  NUMBERS 

2.  The  Introductory  formula  is  doubly  peculiar.  (i)  In 
form.  A  law  is  usually  introduced  by  the  direct  statement  that 
Yahweh  delivered  it  to  Moses  (or  Aaron) ;  here  this  statement 
forms  part  of  Moses'  speech  ;  the  nearest  parallels  are  Ex. 
^516.  32  2"*^  Lev.  8^  9^  17^.  (2)  In  being  addressed  to  tlie  heads 
of  the  tribes  (niD'^n  ''£^'N"l) :  this  phrase  occurs  again  only  in 
I  K  8^  II  2  Ch.  52 ;  cp.  niD'^n  nnx  "'ki'xi  32-8,  jos.  14^  21^.— 
3.  If  a  man  utters  a  vow,  he  must  keep  it.  This  is  obvious. 
An  absolute  command  would  have  been  more  suitable,  but  the 
form  of  sentence  is  probably  chosen  for  the  sake  of  symmetry 
with  the  following  conditional  sentences  which  are  required  by 
the  nature  of  the  case.  The  use  of  the  conditional  in  the 
more  specific  regulation  of  Dt.  23^^  ("If  thou  makest  a  vow 
.  .  .  thou  shalt  not  delay  to  pay  it  ")  is  quite  natural.  Dt., 
too,  adds  expressly  that  the  making  of  vows  is  in  no  sense  a 
requirement  of  religion.  Vows  were  of  two  kinds  :  (i)  a  vow 
might  consist  in  a  promise  to  give  something  to  God ;  the 
classical  example  of  this  is  Jephthah's  vow  :  cp.  also  Gn.  28-'^^-: 
or  (2)  the  vow  might  take  the  form  of  an  undertaking  to 
practise,  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period,  some  form  or  forms  of 
abstinence,  such  as  from  wine,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Nazirite 
(c.  6),  or  from  food  (i  S.  14^*;  cp.  also  Ps.  1322^).  Both 
kinds  are  elsewhere  covered  by  the  single  term  "I1?. :  here  for 
the  second  kind  a  special  term  (""t^^)  is  employed,  while  the 
wider  term  1"I3  is  limited  to  the  first  kind.  The  use  of  the 
noun  1E)5;5  in  the  OT.  is  confined  to  this  chapter,  but  the  vb. 
("IDK)  is  frequent  with  the  sense  to  bind.  In  the  Mishnic  Heb. 
nox  is  regularly  used  with  the  sense  to  prohibit ;  and  in  Bibl. 
Aram,  the  noun  "iDN  means  a  prohibition  or  interdict  (Dan.  6^'* 

etc.) ;  the  Syr.   ;^i  includes   the  meanings  of  interdict  and 

penance^  though  it  also  means  vo'Ji  (Payne  Smith,  s.v.). 
Render:  If  any  man  makes  a  vow  to  Yahiaeh,  or  subjects 
hiinself  to  some  pledge  of  abstinence,  he  shall  not  profane ,  i.e. 
break,  hisisoord\  the  Hiph.  of  the  vb.  (bn*)  occurs  again  with 
this  sense  only  in  Ezek.  39'^ ;  the  Piel  is  commoner  ;  cp.  Ps. 
55"^  Mai.  2^°,  and,  especially  in  view  of  the  context  there  and 
here,  Ps.  Sg^''  ^•"?. — He  must  do  according  to  all  tliat  goclh  foHh 


XXX.  3-4  4^5 

from  his  motiih]  with  VDD  {<^;^■;  ^2,  cp.  TDEC'  NVIO  (Dt.  2^-^  ^-^^). 
An  intention  only  becomes  binding-  when  it  has  been  embodied 
in  speech,  and  so  gained  an  independent  existence ;  conse- 
quently stress  is  frequently  laid,  as  here,  on  the  titterance  of 
the  vow  {e.g.  32^^,  Jud.  1 1^"*'-,  Ps.  66^3'-,  Jer.  44^'^).  And  indeed, 
originally,  so  much  stress  was  laid  on  the  tttterancCy  that  it 
was  held  binding  even  when,  as  in  the  case  of  Isaac's  blessing 
of  Jacob,  it  did  not  express  the  intention  of  the  speaker  (cp. 
notes  on  ^"^'"^  522-27  22^).  This  is  expressly  corrected,  so  far  as 
vows  are  concerned,  in  the  Mishnah  {TTriimoth  iii.  8),  where, 
after  citing  various  illustrations,  such  as  of  a  man  intending  to 
say  "burnt-offering,"  but  actually  saying- "peace-offerings," 
the  general  rule  is  given  that  nothing  is  binding  unless  inten- 
tion and  expression  agree  (piSJ'  uh  VD  Vn-C'  TJ?  Di^JD  "i^iTS  N^). — 
4.  In  her  father' s  house  in  her  yotit1i\  i.e.  while  she  is  young 
and  unmarried.  Women  for  purposes  of  this  law  are  divided 
into  three  classes  (i)  young  unmarried  women,  (2)  married 
women,  (3)  widows  or  divorced  women.  The  classification  is 
not  exhaustive,  no  account  being  taken  of  old  unmarried 
women :  but  in  Israel,  where  marriage  was  a  religious  duty, 
this  class  must  have  been  a  negligible  quantity.  The  term 
youth  {□"'"lyj)  is  vague  :  it  may  include  infancy  (Job  31^^:  cp. 
nyj  Ex.  2^,  I  S.  i^^  4-^),  and  need  not  include  virginity  (cp. 
n-ii'3  in  Jud.  19^,  Am.  2') ;  but  here  childhood  is  scarcely  con- 
templated, the  child,  whether  male  or  female,  probably  being 
assumed  to  be  incapable  under  any  circumstances  of  making  a 
vow.  The  class  contemplated  in  this  v.  would  thus  consist  of 
young  marriageable  but  (since  still  in  the  father's  house) 
unmarried  women.  Many  of  the  Rabbis  *  distinguished  be- 
tween youth  (niiyj),  the  time  of  and  immediately  after  the 
first  appearance  of  the  signs  of  puberty,  and  the  age  oi puberty 
(nnan)  itself;  and  they  limited  the  class  in  this  verse  to  those 
in  the  earlier  stage  (which  lasted  but  a  few  months)  in  accord- 
ance with  the  dictum,  "  When  a  woman  has  attained  puberty, 
her  father  has  no  longer  authority  over  her "  {Nedarim  47A). 
But  this  can  hardly  be  the  intention  of  the  biblical  passage ; 
for  youth  (o'lyj)  in  biblical  Hebrew  covers  a  much  later  period 
*  Siphrc  \  Raslii  on  this  passage  ;  also  Levy,  ii.  19K7,  iii.  41 7a. 


41 6  NUMBERS 

of  life  (see  above). — 5.  And  her  father  coines  to  hear  (l/D'C')  of 
her  vow]  that  yoti'  is  to  be  so  translated  is  clear  from  v.^.  It 
is  not  necessary  that  her  husband  or  father  should  actually 
hear  the  vow  uttered  ;  but  they  must  exercise  their  veto,  if  at 
all,  when  first  made  aware  that  the  vow  has  been  made. — 
Her  vows  shall  stand]  for  Dip,  meaning-  to  be  valid,  cp.  Gn. 
2^'^'^'^  ("The  cave  became  Abraham's  z/^/zV/ possession ") ; 
also  Dt.  19^^. — 6.  But  if  her  father  expresses  his  disapproval  of 
her]  i.e.  of  her  conduct  in  making-  the  vow.  The  sense  of  K'jn 
is  sufficiently  clear  from  the  context  here  and  in  v.^*  ^^  ;  it  is 
an  antithesis  to  giving  tacit  approval  to,  and  its  effect  (v.^)  is 
to  annul  (isn)  the  vow.  (Successful)  opposition  appears  to  be 
the  fundamental  sense  in  Hebrew  ;  cp.  the  remaining  uses  of 
the  vb.  (3 a'''-  ^,  Ps.  33^°,  and,  if  the  text  be  correct,  Ps.  141^). 
The  only  derivative  is  nxiin  (142*,  Job  33^°  t). — 7-9.  The  case 
considered  here  is  that  of  a  woman  who  is  married  while  under 
a  vow  which  her  father  has  not  vetoed  before  marriage. — 
7.  The  rash  utterance]  this  noun  (X'J^O)  occurs  again  only  in 
v.^ ;  the  sense  is  clear  from  the  use  of  the  vb.  in  Lev.  5*, 
Ps.  106^^  t ;  cp.  ni33  (Pr.  12^^  t).  To  judge  from  some  biblical 
references  (Pr.  20^^,  Eccles.  5!- »-5  (2. 4-6)^  Ecclus.  i8'^^),  and  still 
more  from  the  Mishnic  tracts  Nasir  and  Nedarini,  vows  were 
frequently  taken  very  rashly.  But  rashness  did  not  relieve  a 
man  of  his  obligation  (cp.  Lev.  5^). — 9.  If  on  the  day  that  (or, 
perhaps,  simply  when)  her hnsband comes  to  hear  o{  it  he  expresses 
his  disapproval  of  Jier,  then  he  renders  her  vow  invalid]  "12.1  is 
the  antithesis  of  W\>t\  (v.^*^),  D'^pn  the  causative  of  Dip  (v.^  n.). — 
10.  Shall  stand  against  her]  i.e.  shall  be  valid,  and  she  shall 
be  responsible  for  discharging  the  vow. — 14.  Every  oath  taken 
pledging  the  woman  to  some  form  of  abstinence  with  a  view  to 
afflict  the  soul]  the  last  phrase  (C33  n^y!?)  is  commonly  used  in 
connection  with  fasting,  Ps.  35^^,  Is.  58^-  ^ ;  cp.  Lev.  16^*  (Day 
of  Atonement)  2327-29-  32^  j^t^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^^  post-biblical  term 
'^^'^^'B  fast. — Her  husband  can  7'ender  valid,  or  her  husband  can 
rejider  invalid]  see  notes  on  v.^'  ^. — 15.  But  by  merely  keeping 
silence  the  husband  renders  all  her  vows  valid  (D''pni) ;  in  the 
parallel  case  (v.^^)  the  vb.  is  neuter,  here  causative. — 16.  In 
this   verse  the   vb.  isn  must  be   rendered   rather  dilTerently  ; 


XXX.  5-XXXI.  417 

if  after  comings  to  hear  of  the  woman's  vow  and  tacitly  approv  • 
ing  it,  he  forcibly  prevents  the  fulfilment  of  the  vow,  guilt  is 
incurred,  but  it  rests  on  him  and  not  on  his  wife. — He  shall 
bear  the  consequences  of  her  ((5  S  his)  iniquity  ;  for  the  phrase, 
see  Lev.  5^  Ezek.  44^°,  and  the  note  on  Nu.  iS"^. 

2.  'e"  'j^'?]  G.-K,  129c?.— 3.  o  ^\x]  5"  n.  (S  reads  'd  e"n  rw.— 3.  nrx]  but 
with  suffix  n-jD.s;,  see  Stade,  208a  b  ;  Kon.  ii.  141  :  Barth,  NB.  62  ;  Lagarde, 
BS\  175;  Ryssel,  De  El.  Pent.  Sennone,  p.  40.  Both  the  form  and  the 
meanhig  (see  above)  suggest  a  late  stage  of  the  language.— Wf.T  in]  The 
inf.  abs.  is  used  in  a  similar  sentence  in  Lev.  25";  Dav.  88,  R.  i.— 5. 
iDN  h2^  nm:  ^2]  Whether  the  interchange  of  singulars  and  plurals  in  these 
words  throughout  the  chapter  was  intended  by  the  author  cannot  be  deter- 
mined. S  and  C5  generally  have  plurals  ;  so  here  S  reads  anox.  In  f^  it 
should  be  observed  that  the  suffixes  vary  ;  in  v.'*-  '•'•  ^®  QnN,  D-^,  but  in  v.^* 
«^r-. — 6.  mn'i  Dip']  if  the  reading  be  correct,  the  vb.  agrees  exceptionally 
with  the  sing.  ^2  instead  of  the  plural  genitives  that  follow  (G.-K.  146c)  ; 
but  S  reads  m.T  iDip' ;  cp.  lepi  in  v.*.  — 9.  G,  while  giving  the  same  sense, 
suggests  a  very  different  text. — «'r]  S  8<":n].— m^:]  S  .nm: ;  cp.  G. 


XXXI.  The  Extertnination  of  Midian. 

In  view  of  the  near  approach  of  death  (v. 2^),  Moses,  at 
Yahweh's  command,  prepares  to  avenge  Israel  (v. 2)  and 
Yahweh  (v.')  on  the  Midianites,  who  at  the  instigation  of 
Balaam  had  led  the  Israelites  to  sin  against  Yahweh,  and 
incur  in  consequence  a  plague  from  Yahweh  (v.^^).  Moses 
commands  each  tribe  to  equip  1000  men,  and  despatches  them, 
12,000  in  all,  together  with  Phinehas,  who  carries  the  sacred 
"objects  "  and  the  trumpets  with  him  (v.'*"^).  Without  losing 
a  man  themselves  (v.*^),  the  Israelites  slay  "every  male"  {i.e. 
every  fighting  man)  of  the  Midianites  (v.'^),  including  the  five 
kings  of  Midian  ('Evi,  Rekem,  Sur,  Hur,  and  Reba')  and  also 
Balaam  (v.^),  and  burn  all  the  Midianite  cities  and  encamp- 
ments (v.^'').  They  return  to  Moses,  Ele'azar,  and  the  rest  of 
Israel  in  the  steppes  of  Moab  (v.^^)  with  the  Midianite  women 
and  children,  of  whom  the  virgins  numbered  32,000  (v.^-^^), 
and  the  spoil  consisting  of  675,000  small  cattle,  72,000  large 
cattle,  61,000  asses  (v.^-"^*),  and  golden  ornaments  of  which 
the  portion  falling  to  the  officers  was  worth  16,750  shekels 
^y  48-52^^      Moses,  Ele'azar,  and  "  the  princes  of  the  congrega- 

37 


4l8  NUMBERS 

tion  "  g-o  to  meet  the  returning-  army  outside  the  camp.  Moses, 
seeing  that  the  women  are  brought  back  alive,  is  angry  with 
the  officers,  inasmuch  as  it  was  the  Midianite  women  who 
had  caused  Israel  to  sin ;  he  therefore  commands  every  male 
child  and  all  women  not  virgin  to  be  slain,  leaving  only  the 
virgins  alive ;  he  further  commands  that  both  the  warriors  and 
the  captives  shall  remain  seven  days  outside  the  camp  to 
purify  themselves  and  their  g^arments  and  all  objects  made  of 
skin,  goats'  hair,  or  wood,  from  contamination  (v.^^"^'').  At 
this  point  Ele'azar  strikes  in  (as  Rashi  will  have  it,  because 
Moses  in  his  ang^er  had  forg-otten  to  be  particular  enough), 
and  explains  that  all  objects  that  can  bear  it  (viz.  those  of 
metal),  must  be  cleansed  by  being  passed  through  fire,  and 
everybody  else  by  "  the  water  of  impurity"  (v.^^"-^).  Yahweh 
now  commands  Moses  to  count  the  captured  men  and  cattle, 
and  to  divide  them  into  two  equal  parts,  and  to  give  one-half 
to  those  who  had  fought,  the  other  half  to  those  who  had  re- 
mained behind.  Of  the  half  that  falls  to  the  warriors  -g^th  is 
to  be  paid  as  a  tax  to  the  priests ;  of  the  other  half  -sVth  to 
the  Levites  (v.-''"^'^).  The  carrying-  out  of  this  instruction  is 
described  at  length  (v.'^~*^).  Thereafter  the  officers  present 
to  Moses,  as  an  offering  for  Yahweh,  the  spoil  in  gold  which 
they  had  captured  for  themselves ;  Moses  and  Ele'azar  place 
it  in  the  tent  of  meeting  as  a  memorial  (v.^^~^^). 

This  is  not  history,  but  Midrash.*  The  purpose  of  the 
story  is  to  illustrate  certain  leg-al  and  religious  themes,  and 
especially  the  law  of  the  distribution  of  booty  (v.^"2°)  and  of 
the  removal  of  uncleanness  from  the  dead  (v.^®"^*;  cp.  c.  19). 
This  explains  why  the  writer  is  so  indifferent  to  the  actual  war 
that  he  says  nothing  of  the  line  of  march,  nor  of  the  place  and 
manner  of  battle,  and  dismisses  the  slain  with  a  word,  while 
he  waxes  prolix  over  the  booty  and  the  measures  taken  for 
purifying-  the  returned  warriors. 

The  unhistorical  character  of  the  narrative  is  so  obvious 

that  it  need  not  be  proved  at  length.     It  may,  however,   be 

pointed  out  that  if  it  were  historical,   then,  since  every  male 

Midianite   was   slain,    Midian    must   have   disappeared    from 

•  On  the  term,  see  Driver,  L.  O.  T,  529. 


XXXI.  4  I  9 

history  in  the  time  of  Moses;  and  this  conclusion  would  con- 
fllct  with  the  prominent  part  played  by  Midian  in  the  Book 
of  Judges  (c.  6-8),  not  to  speak  of  later  references  (i  K.  ii^^^ 
Is.  6o6). 

But  though  as  a  whole  unhistorical,  the  narrative  may  and 
doubtless  does  contain  some  traditional  elements,  such  as  the 
names  of  the  five  kings.  But  it  is  impossible  to  determine 
the  historical  value  of  these  traditions ;  the  names  need  not 
even  be  IMidianite  names,  still  less  Midianite  names  of  the 
Mosaic  period. 

But  the  greater  part  of  the  chapter  cannot  have  even  n 
traditional  basis.  V.^'^"-*  merely  describes  the  application  of 
the  law  of  c.  19;  the  law  of  the  division  of  the  booty  (v.^"^'') 
is  an  inference  from  ancient  Hebrew  custom  (i  S.  30^"). 
Whence  or  how  the  primary  numbers  {v.^-~^^)  were  obtained 
cannot  be  determined,  but  v.^^~^^  merely  records  the  results 
of  certain  simple  arithmetical  operations  with  these  figures. 
Further,  the  part  played  by  Phinehas  may  have  been  suggested 
by  0.  25 ;  that  the  Israelites,  while  slaughtering  a  multitude 
never  lose  a  single  man,  is  similar  to  the  flight  of  fancy  of  a 
kindred  writer,  who  makes  25,700  Benjamites  slay  in  two 
days,  without  losing  a  man  themselves,  40,000  out  of  400,000 
Israelites  opposed  to  them  (Jud.  c.  20) ;  and  the  munificent 
present  of  the  leaders  (v.^^"^*)  has  a  parallel  in  c.  7. 

The  story  belongs  to  the  age  which  saw  the  rise  of 
Midrashic  literature ;  it  clearly  belongs  to  the  secondary 
strata  of  the  Priestly  Code  (P^),*  for  it  presupposes,  without 
belonging  to,  P^. 

The  style  and  vocabulary  in  general  connect  the  c.  with  P  (note,  e.g.^ 
mj;  several  times,  and  see  notes  and  margins  in  CH.),  and  the  chapter 
presupposes  much  of  the  preceding-  narrative  of  Pc ;  as,  for  example,  that 
Aaron  is  dead  and  Ele'azar  is  priest  (20'--"^^),  that  the  people  are  in  the 
steppes  of  Moab  (22'),  that  Moses'  death  is  imminent  (27'-"^).  On  the 
other  hand,  the  chapter  itself  clearly  formed  no  part  of  P^,  for  (i)  the 
general  Midrashic  character  is  unlike  that  w,'riter  ;  (2)  the  preceding  narra- 
tive of  P'''  does  not  prepare  for  this  incident  :  27'^"^  does  not  anticipate  a 
war  with  Midian  before  Moses'  death,  and  still  less  that  in  such  a  war 
Joshua   should  have  nothing  to  do  ;  (3)  the  vocabulary  of  the  chapter, 

•  Kue.,  We.,  Corn.,  Kit.,  Addis,  CH.  ;  cp.  Di.  and  Str. 


420  NUMBERS 

thoug-h  it  contains  many  of  the  characteristic  words  and  expressions  of 
Ps,  contains  also  striking'  peculiarities.  Among-  the  most  noticeable  de- 
partures from  the  style  and  vocabulary  of  P^  are  (i)  innv  as  a  periphrasis 
for  the  jjronoun  (v."*^),  f-p  (v.*),  and  nniph  (v.^^),  all  of  which  are  common  in 
JE,  but  never  used  by  P^  (cp.  v.^^'-  n.;  also  i6*  n.);  and  (2)  the  following 
words  or  phrases  entirely  peculiar  to  this  c.  or  used  here  in  a  peculiar 
sense — noD  (v.'),  nonhan  'B-sn  (v.^),  020  (v."^  and  5  times  besides),  Kasn  D]i 
(v.32),  n^HD  (v.36- 43),  Note  also  npho  (v."),  inx  (v.^'-'iT)^  ,",  nopj  (y.S),  por 
details,  see  the  notes  below  ;  but  note  that  some  of  the  expressions  are 
most  nearly  paralleled  in  Ch. 

1-8.  The  Israelites  under  Phinehas  are  sent  out  to  fight  the 
Midianites. — 2a.  Resumptive  of  25"'-. — 2b.  Cp.  27^^ — 3.  Equip 
/or  yourselves  men  from  among  yott\  a  doubtful  rendering  of  a 
certainly  peculiar  phrase  (see  phil.  n.). — 5.  And  there  were 
delivered^  presumably  to  Moses  ;  on  the  unusual  verb,  see 
below. — 6.  The  choice  of  Phinehas  rather  than  Ele'azar  to 
accompany  (or,  to  lead  ?)  the  host  was  dictated  by  considera- 
tions similar  to  those  that  dictated  the  choice  of  Ele'azar  in 
17^  (see  note  there). — The  sacred  ohjects\  What  is  intended  is 
uncertain  ;  the  phrase  cnpn  v3  refers  elsewhere  to  various 
appointments  of  the  tabernacle  or  temple  (3^^  4^^  18^,  i  K.  S*, 
I  Ch.  9^9,  2  Ch.  55 1;  cp.  Neh.  10*0,  i  Ch.  221^).  Di.  (after 
Del.)  would  interpret  it  here  of  the  sacred  garments  ;  a  unique 
sense  of  the  phrase,  such  as  this  would  be,  is  by  no  means 
impossible  in  this  ch.  For  'h::^^ garment,  cp.  Dt.  22^. — The 
trumpets  for  the  blast\  Hi'linn  nn^'^Tl  2  Ch.  13^- t,  cp.  Nu.  lo^ 
(m^'Vna  Dny-im).  On  these  trumpets,  see  10^-^°  (P).  —  7. 
Every  male]  the  expression  is  very  characteristic  of  P,  includ- 
ing- P^;  CH.  107. — 8.  The  five  kings  are  mentioned  again  by 
name  and  in  the  same  order  in  Jos.  13^^;  but  they  are  there 
described  as  princes  ("'X''t^'J)  of  Midian  and  chiefs  ("S't^J)  of 
Sihoti,  and  are  said  to  have  been  smitten  by  the  Israelites  in 
the  same  battle  with  Sihon,  king  of  the  Amorites.  Balaam 
there,  as  here,  is  associated  with  them,  but  receives  the  addi- 
tional description  of  the  soothsayer  (DDpn).  Neither  passage 
seems  to  be  based  directly  on  the  other ;  they  are  rather  both 
based  on  a  tradition  anterior  to  either,  which  was  already 
somewhat  fixed  in  form,  since  the  five  kings  seem  to  have 
attained  to  a  fixed  order  of  mention,  and  was  yet  told  witli 
such  differences  as  are  represented  in  the  two  written  forms  of 


XXXI.  i-ii  421 

the  story.  One  of  the  king-s  (Sur)  is  also  mentioned  in  25^^, 
and  is  there  described  as  head  of  a  Midianite  family — a  de- 
scription chosen,  perhaps,  in  view  of  the  description  of  Zimri 
as  head  of  a  Simeonite  family.  Of  the  names  little  is  to  be 
said,  except  that  they  have  no  appearance  of  being  either 
artificial  or  late.  On  Sur,  see  25^^.  Evi  and  Rebd  are  other- 
wise unknown.  Hur  (which  may  possibly  be  the  Egyptian 
Horus)  is  in  E's  account  of  the  Exodus  the  name  of  an 
Israelite  (Ex.  17^°"^^;  see  EBt.).  Rekc7n  appears  elsewhere 
in  the  genealogies  of  Ch.  (i  Ch,  2'^^^-  7^*^),  and  as  the  name  of 
a  Benjamite  town  in  Jos.  18^''^;  in  5,  Rekem  is  the  equivalent 
of  Kadesh. —  With  their  slain]  i.e.  those  slain  in  battle,  not 
those  afterwards  slain  as  prisoners  (v.^'^). 

1.  P's  formula :  CH.  185.  —  3.  D'e^jn  D3n.x3  li'Vnn]  The  Niphal  of  i''?n 
occurs  again  only  in  32^''*  -" :  there  the  word  is  a  direct  reflexive.  Here, 
if  correctly  pointed,  it  must  be  an  indirect  reflexive,  since  d"B':x  c^dno  is 
clearly  the  direct  object.  Possibly  i^7nn  should  be  pointed  as  Hiphil ;  but 
for  the  Hiphil  there  is  only  one,  and  that  a  doubtful  parallel  (Is.  58'^). — 
'^y  r.Ti]  rather  peculiar:  but  cp.  2  S.  11-*  u'ith  We.'s  note  (cited  by  Dr.). 
For  ViTi  NDsb',  ffi  possibly  read  '"'  'aaS  n3^^. — ni.T  ncpj]  Jer.  50^^-  '^'^  51"  ;  cp. 
Jer.  ii2»  20^2,  Ezek.  2^'^-  "f  ;  so  CH.  niarg-.— 5.  udd'i]  v.^^  f.  In  v.i«  the 
reading  is  very  doubtful,  and  some  here  follow  ffi  and  correct  to  "?e;i. 
The  root  "idd  is  otherwise  unknown  in  biblical  Hebrew,  though  very  com- 
mon in  post-biblical  Hebrew  and  Aram.,  with  the  meaning  to  deliver.  It 
also  occurs  in  Sab3ean  =  ^o^^^  taken  ffw«;j/(Hommel  in  ZDMG.  xlvi.  530). — 
N3S  'siVn]  I  Ch.  12-*,  2  Ch.  17^^  t;  cp.  K3i'.T  ':>i'7n  Jos.  4^*(R)t;  k^s  \-hn  '?3 
yi"\  K3s'7  x^hm  I  Ch.  \2^\, 

9-12.  The  Israelites  return  victorious. — 9.  Their  little  ones] 
The  word  (DDt3)  is  exceeding  uncommon,  if  indeed  ever  found, 
in  P^;  it  occurs  thrice  in  this  c.  (v.^'^-  ^^),  4  times  in  the  next 
^y  i6f.  24.  26^^  ari^  ji^  Qn^  24^9  ;  Otherwise  12  or  13  times  in  J,  and 
9  times  in  D;  CH.  52^. — 10.  Their  cities]  13^^  n, — /ft  their 
dwelling-places]  the  places  where  they  were  now  settled  as 
distinguished  from  their  original  settlements:  this  is  the  usual 
interpretation,  but  whether  the  writer  meant  anything  so 
definite  may  be  doubted. — And  all  their  enclostires]  not  the 
usual  word  (n:nD)  for  an  encampment,  but  that  (HT'U)  which 
is  used  specifically  of  the  encampments  of  nomads  (Gn.  25^'', 
Ezek.  25")  and  then  more  loosely  (Ps.  6926,  i  Ch.  e^^).— 11.  All 
the  spoil  (^i't^')  and  all  that  ims  taken  (mp^D  ;   also  v.^^.  27.  32^  j^^ 


422  NUMBERS 

49-*  t) ;  in  the  next  v.  these  terms  are  repeated  with  a  third, 
the  captives  i^yif),  prefixed.  The  three  terms  are  used  rather 
loosely ;  but  the  first  may  exclude  and  the  last  particularly  refer 
to  human  beings  ;  the  second  certainly  includes  men  in  v.^^-  ^- ; 
but  in  v.^2,  as  in  Is.  49^*^',  these  are  sufficiently  covered  by  ^^K'. 
The  second  and  third  are  combined  in  v. 2^. — 12b.  Cp.  22^. 

13-20.  The  reception  of  the  warriors,  and  Moses'  instructions 
to  them. — 13  f.  Ele  asar  the  priest  (20^'^^-)  and  the  princes  of 
the  congregation  (Ex.  16-^  and  often)  are  derived  from  P^  ;  the 
captains  of  thousands  and  the  captains  of  hundreds  (v.^^),  from 
elsewhere  [e.g.  Ex.  iS^^  E).  For  the  officers  of  the  host  (mp2 
7^nn),  cp.  2  K.  11^^;  and  note  that  Ci"'1i?2i,  though  very  frequent 
in  P,  has  generally  quite  another  sense  (see,  e.g..,  i*^;  and 
CH.  115^''). — Moses  and  the  rest  go  to  meet  the  warriors 
without  the  camp  (CH.  120^''),  where  they  were  required  by 
law  (c.  19  and  below)  to  stay  till  purified  from  contamination 
by  the  dead. — 15.  Cp.  i  S.  c.  15. — Every  female\  cp.  v.'^  n. — 16. 
Cp.  25^^.  The  Heb.  cstr.  is  extraordinary,  and  the  text  in  one 
respect  corrupt  (see  below) :  the  paraphrase  of  RV.  gives  the 
general  sense.  The  women  on  account  of  their  seduction  of 
the  Israelites,  the  male  children  (v.^^)  in  order  to  secure  the 
extinction  of  Midian,  are  to  be  slain  ;  the  virgins  to  be  pre- 
served alive  (v.^^). — 19  f.  Moses  commands  the  warriors  with 
their  captives  to  stay  without  the  camp  till  they  have  become 
ceremonially  clean  by  **unsinning"  (8-^  n.)  themselves  on  the 
third  and  seventh  day  (cp.  5^  19^^"^"),  and  by  "  unsinning " 
also  their  garments  and  everything  with  them  that  is  made  of 
skin  (cp.  Lev.  i3*^^-)>  goats'  hair  {iy]V  i  S.  19^2.16^  Ex.25*),  O"^ 
wood;  these  would  be  unclean  on  the  principle  of  19^^^-.  This 
purification  of  victorious  warriors  and  their  weapons  Is  a  very 
primitive  custom.  An  instance  of  the  custom  among  a  modern 
savage  people  has  been  cited  above  (p.  243) ;  see,  further, 
Frazer,  Golden  Bough,  i.  331-339. 

21-24.  Ele'azar  adds  some  more  explicit  directions. — Every- 
thing that  can  stand  it  is  to  be  purified  by  being  passed  through 
fire,  and  then  unsiujied  by  means  oj  the  water  of  impurity  (19^^) : 
everything  else  must  be  washed  luith  water \  not,  as  RV. 
("  the  water  ")  might  suggest,  with   "  the  water  of  impurity." 


XXXI.  12-23  4^3 

The  article   with   fi^^3,  like  that  with  t'NS,  is  g-eneric  (G.-K. 
i26?n). — 21.   T/ie  statute  of  the  law]  ig^  f. 

9.  'b"  '33]  G  Fom.— 12.  'v  «33  mv  hii]  (&  'c  '33  "?:  "-«  ;  5  S  'a-  ':3  mj;  ^3  ha. 
— 14.  non'?2n  H2'i  =  the  service  of  war;  this  is  rather  peculiar;  cp.  i  Ch.  7^ 
\2^  where  the  sense  is  perliaps  different,  and  Is.  13''  where  it  certainly  is 
different. — 13.  cnKip"?]  riNipV  is  used  in  the  Hexateuch  28  times  in  JE,  6  in 
D,  never  in  Ps :  but  it  is  used  in  Gn.  14",  a  chapter  which,  like  the  present, 
is  Midrashic  in  character  and  stylistically  dependent  on  Pe  ;  CH.  183  J^. — 
16.  The  whole  of  clause  a  is  clumsily  constructed  ;  but  nroV  appears  to  be 
a  textual  error:  even  the  post-biblical  meaning-  of  ^os  (v.*  n.)  is  unsuitable 
iiere  ;  the  suggestion  made  by  Ges.  {Thes.)  to  read  Sj'c'?  has  been  generally 
accepted  ;  then  cp.  especially  5',  also  2  Ch.  36",  Ezek.  14".  (5  S>  read  ncsS 
'7J;d'?  as  two  infinitives  ;  cp.  Haupt  in  SBOT. — 17.  ^^I  nriJ'sV  ex  nvT  nt:'.x]  simi- 
larly v.^*  and  v.  ^';  the  only  strict  parallels  are  in  Jud.  ai^"-. — 19.  iN::nnn]8^in. 
— 20.  ixcnnn]  the  alternatives  are  to  regard  the  vb.  as  used  in  an  unusual 
"  indirect  middle  "  sense  (cp.  isVnn  v.^),  or  to  regard  the  whole  of  the  pre- 
ceding part  of  the  v.  as  an  unusual  instance  of  the  indirect  ace.  If  the 
first  be  adopted,  Nsnnn  is  used  in  three  different  senses  in  immediate 
succession;  for  in  v.^  it  must  be  passive  (cp.  Kon.  iii.  loi). — 21.  Dwai 
rrrn'yc'?]  32*,  i  Ch.  19' t-  Haupt,  however,  proposes  to  read  here  either 
'hch  D'KS'.i,  or  (after  ffi)  ncn^D  »eas2  cxnn. 

25-47.  The  division  of  the  booty. — 26.  Moses  is  assisted 
in  estimating'  the  booty  by  Ele'azar  and  the  heads  of  families, 
as  at  the  taking  of  the  census  he  had  been  assisted  by  Aaron 
and  "the  princes  of  Israel"  (i^*). — 27.  The  equal  division  of 
the  booty  here  enjoined  between  those  who  had  actually  taken 
part  in  the  battle  and  all  the  rest  of  the  congregatioti,  i.e.  those 
who  had  kept  in  camp,  accords  with  early  Hebrew  custom,  the 
establishment  of  which  is  attributed  to  David  (i  S.  30^^^-). 
Cp.  also  Jos.  22^.  On  the  Arabic  and  Mohammedan  custom, 
which  shows  some  points  of  similarity,  see  Kor.  8^'  ^^ ; 
Sprenger,  Mohammad,  iii.  126-128;  Muir,  Jl/aho?net,^  221  {. — 
23.  After  the  division  of  the  spoil  as  between  the  two  sections 
of  the  people  and  before  its  distribution  to  individuals,  a  tax  is 
deducted  for  religious  purposes.  No  such  tax  is  mentioned  In 
I  S.  30^**-,  but  some  such  practice  maybe  ancient ;  Mohammed 
required  ^th  ("Know  that  whenever  ye  seize  anything  as  a 
spoil,  to  God  belongs  a  fifth  thereof,  and  to  His  apostle,  and  to 
kindred  and  orphans,  and  the  poor  and  the  wayfarer,"  Kor.  8*-). 
— 28  f.  From  the  portion  of  the  men  who  fought,  xD^oth  is  set 
apart  as  a  contribution  {-^  n.)  to  Yahweh  for  the  use  of  the 


424  NUMBERS 

priests. — 30.  From  the  half  assigned  to  the  rest  of  the  con- 
gregation, -g^oth  is  set  apart  for  the  use  of  the  Levites.  The 
whole  body  of  Levites  thus  receive  10  times  as  much  as  the 
priests ;  this  recalls  the  regulations  as  to  tithe  (i8^^*^-),  though 
the  result  of  the  distribution  is  rather  different ;  in  the  case  of 
tithe,  the  Levites  retain  for  their  own  use  only  9  times  as  much 
as  is  given  to  the  priests. — 32.  Now  what  was  taken  (v.^^  n.), 
all  thai  remained  over  of  the  booty  which  the  men  who  had 
fought  (X3Vn  DJ?,  here  only)  had  made^  i.e.  all  that  was  left 
after  the  command  of  v.^'^  had  been  carried  out,  or  possibly,  as 
Str.  takes  it  to  mean,  all  that  had  not  been  used  up  or  worn 
to  death  (Gn.  33^^)  on  the  homeward  march. — 33-47.  See  the 
summary  of  the  chapter,  above. 

48-54.  The  report  and  present  of  the  officers  of  the  host. — 
48  f.  The  officers  report  to  Moses  that  the  army  has  returned 
from  the  war  without  the  loss  of  a  man. — 49.  Thy  servants] 
This  periphrasis  for  the  personal  pronoun  occurs  6  times  in 
this  chapter  and  the  next  (32^^- ^-  2^-  ^^,  P'),  32  times  in  JE,  and 
2  times  in  D;  CH.  73^^. — The  men  .  .  .  who  were  under  our 
authority^  with  lyT'n,  cp.  2  S.  18-, — 50.  The  officers  bring  as 
an  offering  to  Yahweh  the  various  ornaments  of  precious 
metal,  rifled  from  the  bodies  of  the  slain  (cp.  Jud.  8--^-),  which 
had  fallen  to  their  lot  but  had  formed  no  part  of  the  booty  dis- 
tributed as  described  in  v.^^"^'^.  The  precise  sense  of  many 
of  the  terms  in  v.^°''  is  uncertain.  3nT  vl),  objects  of  gold  (not, 
as  RV.,  "jewels  of  gold  "),  appears  to  be  generic,  the  following 
terms  being  specific;  cp.  in  the  next  v.,  the  gold  .  .  .  all  the 
wrought  objects  (n::'i;o  ""^D  b  .  .  .  3nrn  nji) ;  myvs  (2  S.  1^° 
and  mj?S  Is.  3-*^!)  is  probably  ««  ornament  for  the  arm\    cp. 

2  S.   i^°  and   sJ^~ ,  the  upper  part  of  the  arm  (Barth,   NB. 

151^.  Some  [e.g.  RV.)  prefer  the  meaning  anklet,  assuming 
that  the  word  is  from  the  root  l^i*  to  march,  or  step.  The 
next  term  TCV  (Gn.  2^'^-  30.47^  Ezek.  16^^  23*^!)  is  clearly  an 
ornament  for  the  hand  or  wrist.  The  next  two  terms  denote 
rings ;  ny3D  is  the  signet  ring  which  was  worn  on  the  hand 
(Est.  3^2,  Gn.  41*^),  and  ^^Vi  the  ear-ring  (Ezek.  \G-'^\').  But 
TD^3,  also  mentioned  in  Ex.  35^^  f,  though  perhaps  etymolog- 


XXXI,  30-XXXIL  425 

ically  connected  with  U^  =  to  roll  something  with  the  hands  into 
a  round  fonn^  is  of  quite  uncertain  meaning. — To  make  pro- 
pitiation for  ourselves  before  Yahweh]  cp.  Ex.  30^^'-. — 52.  The 
total  weight  of  the  gold  of  the  contribution  -which  they  con- 
tributed was  16,750  shekels  (=just  over  600  pounds  avoir- 
dupois) ;  ct.  the  smaller  figures  in  Jud.  8^^ — 53.  The  private 
soldiers  had  also  secured  similar  plunder  of  gold  and  silver 
objects  for  themselves.  Possibly  the  verse  is  a  gloss.* — 54a 
repeats  v.^^ — 54b.  Cp.  Ex.  30^^^ 

26.  m3K  TN-]  confined  to  P  (perhaps  P' ;  3228  36'  (cp.  17"),  Ex.  (P  (Jos. 
14^  19"  21'),  Ch.  and  Neh. :  CH.  84.-27.  non'^on  -csn]  the  phrase  occurs 
nowhere  else  :  cp.  .Tiinn  'rsn  Jer.  2^ ;  and  for  the  vb.  see  also  Am.  2",  Gn. 
4"^ — 28.  ncini]  G.-K.  72/.— D=o]  the  word  is  used  only  in  this  chapter 
(v."-",  5  times) ;  in  post-biblical  Hebrew  and  in  Aram,  it  means  tax  ;  and 
in  post-biblical  Hebrew  D31D  means  a  tax-gatherer.  nODD  in  Ex.  12'*,  Lev. 
27-^  (P)  has  a  different  sense.— cej  nn.**]  E'23  =  wa«  is  masc.  as  in  Gn.  46^"- 
*'*.  On  the  exceptional  prefixing-  of  the  numeral  nnx,  see  Kon.  iii.  310J. 
But  vti  may  be,  as  Paterson  suggests,  a  gloss  to  show  that  the  levy  is  to 
be  made  only  on  live  spoil. — 30.  l^^«  nnx]  cp.  inx  inN.T  v.'*^:  Jnx  to  take  out 
(of  a  number)  occurs  elsewhere  only  in  1  Ch.  24^ — 36.  ni-no]  v.'*''t. — 53. 
Nasn  'e-:.**]  ct.  r\r:iThT:>7\  'b-jk  v.^S;  nasrr  Dy  v.^^  and  D'Naxn  ti''mv.r\  v.". —  54. 
mNCm  d'eVx.t  nc]  an  abbreviation  (found  also  in  i  Ch.  13^)  of  'v\  ''^ni    r, 


XXXII.   The  settlement  of  Reuben,  Gad,  and  Manasseh 
on  the  East  of  Jordan. 

Being  rich  in  flocks,  Reuben  and  Gad  seek  to  have  allotted 
to  them  the  rich  pasture  land  of  Gile'ad  instead  of  territory  on 
the  W.  of  Jordan  (v.^~^).  Moses  expresses  his  anger  at  the 
apparent  selfish  indifference  of  these  two  tribes  to  the  common 
interests  of  the  whole  people  (v.^"^^).  Reuben  and  Gad  explain 
that  they  are  willing  before  settling  down  themselves  to  assist 
the  other  tribes  in  the  conquest  of  W.  Palestine  (v.^^^^). 
Moses  instructs  Ele'azar,  Joshua,  and  the  heads  of  the  people 
to  allot  Gile'ad  to  Reuben  and  Gad  if  they  fulfil  their  promise, 
and,  if  they  do  not,  to  punish  tliem  by  making  them  settle  W. 
of  Jordan  (v. 2^"^°).  Reuben  and  Gad  rebuild  certain  cities 
^y^34-38j  in  which  they  had  proposed  to  leave  their  women  and 
•  Di.,  CH.,  Paterson. 


426  NUMBERS 

children  while  they  should  be  away  fighting  with  the  other 
tribes  (v.^^^-).  Manassite  clans  make  conquests  E.  of  Jordan 
(v.39-42). 

The  closing  section  of  the  chapter,  apart  from  v.^^  consists 
of  fragments  from  an  ancient  source :  see  on  v.^^~*-.  The 
remainder  (v.^~^)  appears  to  have  been  freely  composed  by  a 
late  writer  working  on  materials  derived  from  JE  and  P,  and 
having  some  of  the  previous  narrative,  such  as  that  of  the 
spies  (c.  i3f.)>  before  him  (cp.  v.^~^^)  in  its  present  composite 
form  (JE  P).  The  chapter  takes  no  account  of  c.  31,  but  (in 
y  asff.j  it  presupposes  27^^"^^  (P),  and  is  itself  presupposed  by 
34^*'-  (cp.  Jos.  13152.  (P)).  Consequently  it  was  written,  or 
recast,  to  occupy  some  place  between  c.  27  and  34.  A  strict 
analysis  of  the  chapter  as  between  JE  and  P  cannot  be  satis- 
factorily carried  through. 

Driver  assigns  v.^'i'- so-"  (in  the  main)  8*-»8  to  JE,  v.'^^^-^-«>  to  P;  and 
certainly  the  indications  of  P,  though  some  of  them  are  sufficiently 
marked,  are  less  numerous  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter  series  of 
verses.  Other  analyses  may  be  found  in  Bacon,  Triple  Tradition  ;  Addis, 
Documents  of  the  Hex.;  Paterson,  SBOT.  ;  see  also  Holzinger's  Tabellen. 
For  the  view  taken  above  as  to  the  whole  of  v.^'^,  see  CH.  ;  cp.  Kue.  in 
Th.  Tijd.  xi.  478  ff. 

The  mixed  character  of  the  narrative  is  illustrated  in  the  notes  that 
follow,  but  it  will  be  convenient  to  group  together  the  chief  points  here, 
(i)  In  common  with  JE  this  narrative  speaks  of  the  spies  starting  from 
Kadesh  and  going  as  far  as  the  Wady  Eshcol ;  and  it  contains  such 
characteristic  words  and  phrases  as  f]D,  mrr  qx  nn'i,  ^  jnn,  'n^D  {  =  except), 
mpo.  (2)  In  common  with  P,  the  chapter  makes  Joshua  as  well  as  Caleb 
a  spy,  and  speaks  of  Ele'azar  the  priest ;  in  the  vocabulary  note  mi'ri 
D'K-m,  mnx,  n'?VDi  rue*  oncy  pD.  (3)  As  in  D,  Kadesh  is  here  called  Kadesh- 
Barnea'.  Note  the  Deuteronomic  phrases  in  v.''"^^  (see  notes  there). 
(4)  For  some  linguistic  peculiarities  of  the  chapter  see  notes  on  k'jh 
(v.'"  ^)  and  nmn  (v.^^).  The  presence  of  linguistic  peculiarities  and 
Deuteronomic  characteristics,  and  the  fact  that  some  of  the  most  marked 
peculiarities  of  P  are  embedded  in  sections  that  in  other  respects  most 
closely  resemble  JE,  render  it  more  probable  that  the  whole  narrative  has 
been  recast  than  that  it  is  the  result  of  simple  compilation  from  JE  and 
P,  such  as  is  generally  found  elsewhere. 

Proof  that  the  substance  of  the  story  was  as  old  as,  and 
indeed  older  than,  JE  may  be  found  in  Dt.  33^^,  which  appears 
to  allude  to  Gad  assisting  the  other  tribes  after  choosing  his 
own  portion.     Like  others,  the  story  was  told  with  variations 


XXXII.  I  427 

in  detail :  according-  to  Dt.  3^^"^^  Moses  unrcqiicstcd  distributes 
the  land  to  Reuben,  Gad,  and  half  Manasseh,  and  the  con- 
dition that  these  tribes  must  assist  the  others  is  not  suggested 
by  themselves,  but  imposed  on  them  by  Moses. 

1-5.  Gad  and  Reuben  make  their  request. — Rich  in  cattle, 
these  tribes  wish  to  settle  in  Gile'ad. — 1.  The  cattle  owned  by 
the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness  are  frequently  mentioned  else- 
where (11*  n.),  but  neither  here  nor  elsewhere  is  it  explained 
how  Gad  and  Reuben  came  to  be  richer  in  cattle  than  the 
remaining  tribes.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  pre-eminently 
pastoral  (cp.  Jud.  5^^-  ^''*)  character  of  the  tribes  which  remained 
E.  of  Jordan  must  have  been  the  result  and  not  the  cause  of 
their  settlement  in  this  district. — Reuben  .  .  .  Gad]  ct.  Gad .  .  . 
Re7jbe7t  in  v. 2- 6- 25. 29. 31. 33 .  cp.  v.^^-s^.  ffi  (except  in  v.^-^^), 
S  (except  in  v.^),  and  &  keep  Reuben  .  .  .  Gad  throughout 
y  1-33^  The  order  Reuben^  Gad  is  found  in  all  the  parallel 
passages  and  allusions  in  the  Hexateuch  {e.g.  Dt.  3,  Jos.  22) 
except  in  Jos.  18^ :  it  also  occurs  in  i  Ch.  5^^  6^^-  ^"^-^  ^^-  ^^-^^^ 
12^''  26^-.  But  in  the  present  chapter  the  unusual  order  Gad, 
Reuben  (cp.  2  K.  10^^)  is  probably  original  (cp.  v.^*~^^),  and 
due  to  the  pre-eminence  of  Gad  (cp.  Dt.  33^°*-  ^)  in  the  period 
to  which  the  story  lying  at  the  base  of  the  present  narrative 
belongs.  If  this  be  so,  the  text  of  |^  in  v.^  has  been  altered 
out  of  regard  for  the  genealogical  scheme  which  makes 
Reuben  the  firstborn  of  Jacob,  and  this  alteration  has  been 
more  consistently  carried  through  in  S  ffi  S. — The  land  of 
Jdzer  ("iry^  pNf)  and  the  land  of  Gilead]  the  Gadite  and 
Reubenite  country  is  differently  defined,  or  described,  in 
different  parts  of  the  chapter.  It  is  called  "the  land  of 
Gile'ad  "  simply  (v.^''),  or  defined  by  a  series  of  towns  (v.^-  ^^'^"^ : 
cp.  v.2^),  or  described  as  the  already  conquered  country  (v.^-  ^ ; 
c.  21).  The  differences  may  be  in  part  due  to  the  combina- 
tion of  different  sources. — On  the  site  of  Jdzevy  see  21^*  n. 
Gilead  used  in  its  widest  sense  would  include  Ja'zer;  cp. 
"Ja'zer  of  Gile'ad,"  i  Ch.  26^^.  Ja'zer  may  be  particularly 
mentioned  with  a  view  to  suggesting  the  eastward  limit  of  the 
land  described  (cp.  Jos.  13-^) ;  for  Gile'ad  is  a  very  elastic 
term.     Sometimes  {e.g.  Jos.   22^-  ^^)  it  covers  the  whole  land 


428  NUMBERS 

of  Israel  E.  of  Jordan  In  antithesis  to  Canaan,  the  land  of 
Israel  W.  of  Jordan.  Gile'ad  used  in  this  widest  sense  gener- 
ally consisted  of  the  land  between  the  Wady  Hesban  (or  even 
the  Arnon)  on  the  S.  and  the  Yarmuk  on  the  N. :  the  eastern 
border  was  indefinite ;  and  the  northern  and  southern  were 
subject  to  expansion  and  contraction  according-  to  the  power 
of  the  Aramaeans  and  Moabites  respectively.  The  country  is 
cut  by  the  Jabbok  (mod.  Nahr  ez-Zerka)  into  what  some 
biblical  writers  looked  upon  as  the  two  halves  of  Gile'ad  (Jos. 
122.  6  1331^  Dt.  3i2f.) ;  and  the  terms  *<  land  of  Gile'ad,"  "  moun- 
tains of  Gile'ad,"  are  often  used  when  the  writer  has  mainly, 
or  exclusively,  in  mind  either  one  of  these  two  halves ;  so 
Gile'ad  refers  to  the  land  N.  of  Jabbok  in  Jos.  17^-  ^^-y  to  the 
land  S.  of  Jabbok  in  Jos.  13^^.  In  the  present  chapter  it  is 
used  in  both  of  these  limited  senses.  Here  and  in  v.^^  (cp. 
Dt.  3^^'-)  it  refers  to  the  land  S.  of  Jabbok  ;  for  the  towns 
mentioned  in  v.^-  ^*~^^  and  the  territory  elsewhere  assigned  to 
Gad  and  Reuben  lay  entirely  south  of  that  river.  But  in  v.^^ 
Gile'ad  means  the  country  N.  of  the  Jabbok.*  The  ancient 
name  is  now  confined  to  the  Jebel  Jil'ad  S.  of  the  Nahr  ez- 
Zerka  and  near  es-Salt. — The  district  was  a  district  for  cattle] 
Gile'ad,  especially  southern  Gile'ad,  like  Moab  still  further 
south,  was  celebrated  in  ancient  as  it  is  in  modern  times  for 
its  cattle;  see  Cant.  4I  6^  Mic.  7^*,  i  Ch.  5^  A  modern 
Arab  saying  runs,  **Thiou  canst  not  find  a  country  like  the 
Belka'"  [i.e.  the  country  between  Jabbok  and  Arnon)  for 
cattle  and  sheep.f 

N.  and  S.  Gile'ad  differ  somewhat  in  character.  The  following 
sentences  from  G.  A.  Smith's  Hist.  Geog.  (p.  522  ff.)  illustrate  this,  and 
vividly  depict  the  present  character  of  the  country  desired  by  Reuben  and 
Gad.  "  Gilead,  between  the  Yarmuk  and  the  Jabbok,  has  its  ridges 
covered  by  forests.  .  .  .  The  valleys  hold  orchards  of  pomegranates, 
apricot,  and  olive  ;  there  are  many  vineyards,  on  the  open  plains  are  fields 
of  wheat  and  maize,  and  the  few  moors  are  rich  in  fragrant  herbs.  .  .  . 
South  of  the  Jabbok,  the  forests  gradually  cease,  and  Ammon  and  Moab 
are  mostly  high,  bare  moors.  .  ,  .  More  famous  than  the  tilth  of  Eastern 

*  G.  A.  Smith, /f/s/".  C^^^.  534  f.,  548  f.;  Buhl,  Geog.  45-48,  119-122; 
Cheyne,  art.  "Gilead"  in  EBi. 

t  G.  Ik.  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  524,  cited  from  Burckhardt,  Travels  in 
Syria,  369. 


XXXII.  2-6  429 

Palestine  is  her  pasture.  We  passed  through  at  the  height  of  the 
shepherd's  year.  From  the  Arabian  deserts  the  Bedouin  were  swarming 
to  the  fresh  summer  herbage  of  these  uplands.  We  should  never  have 
believed  the  amount  of  their  flocks  had  we  not  seen,  and  attempted  to 
count  them.  .  .  .  The  Bedouin  had  also  many  sheep  and  goats.  The 
herds  of  the  settled  inhabitants  were  still  more  numerous.  In  Moab  the 
dust  of  the  roads  bears  almost  no  marks  but  those  of  the  feet  of  sheep. 
The  scenes  which  throng  most  our  memory  of  Eastern  Palestine  are  .  .  . 
the  streams  of  Gilead  in  the  heat  of  the  day  with  the  cattle  standing  in 
them,  or  the  evenings  when  we  sat  at  the  door  of  our  tent  near  the  village 
well,  and  would  hear  the  shepherd's  pipe  far  away,  and  the  sheep  and 
^oats,  and  cows  with  the  heavy  bells,  would  break  over  the  edge  of  the 
hill,  and  come  down  the  slope  to  wait  their  turn  at  the  troughs.  Over 
Jordan  we  were  never  long  out  of  the  sound  of  the  lowing  of  cattle  or  of 
the  shepherd's  pipe." 

2b.  Cp.  3ii2a.  13a  ^psj^ — 3^  "phg  nj^ie  towns  here  enumerated 
are  all  again  mentioned  in  v.^^^^,  where  the  first  four  are 
assigned  to  Gad,  the  last  five  to  Reuben.  Five  additional 
towns  are  there  mentioned  (four  Gadite  and  one  Reubenite). 
The  order  in  which  the  names  common  to  the  two  passage? 
are  mentioned  is  the  same,  except  that  Dibon  there  precedes 
'Ataroth  and  Sibmah  follows  instead  of  preceding  Nebo  and 
(Ba'al)  Me'on.  The  forms  of  two  or  three  of  the  names  vary. 
Some  of  these  places  certainly  lay  S.  of  the  Wady  Hesban,  and 
all,  apparently,  S.  of  the  Jabbok.  See,  further,  on  v.^*~^®. — 
Be  on]  a  transcriptional  error  for  Me'on. — 4.  The  land  already 
conquered,  which  included  the  places  specified  in  v.^,  is  suit- 
able for  cattle. — T/ie  land  which  Yahweh  smo^e]  the  allusion  is 
to  the  conquests  recorded  in  c.  21  (JE).  The  mixed  style  of 
this  0.  is  illustrated  in  this  v. :  before  the  congregation  (i^  n.) 
of  Israel  is  reminiscent  of  P,  thy  servants  (31^^  n.)  of  JE, 
and  smite  {'"'^n)  is  nowhere  else  used  of  the  divine  action  in 
conquest.  So  v.^  thy  serva7its  is  immediately  followed  by 
the  characteristic  priestly  phrase  r\\r\\/h  for  a  possession  {L.0.7\ 
133,  no.  22) :  jn  NVD  to  fiJid favour^  occurs  21  times  in  JE,  once 
in  D,  never  in  P^  (CH.  31). 

6-15.  Moses  upbraids  Gad  and  Reuben  with  selfish  dis- 
regard of  the  common  interests  of  Israel. — 6.  Moses  under- 
stands the  proposal  of  Gad  and  Reuben  to  imply  a  disregard 
for  the  unity  of  Israel  similar  to  that  with  which  the  trans- 
Jordanic  tribes,   Reuben  and  Gile'ad  (  =  Gad),  are  upbraided 


430  NUMBERS 

in  the  song  of  Deborah,  Jud.  5^'^. — 7.  IVIiercfore  do  ye  dis- 
courage the  heart]  On  the  vb.  N''3n,  see  30*^  n.  The  phrase 
3^  N''Jn  is  repeated  In  v.®,  but  is  peculiar  to  this  chapter.  The 
context,  especially  In  v.^,  somewhat  favours  the  translation 
just  given.  But  the  literal  meaning'  of  the  phrase  may  rather 
be  to  oppose  the  heart  or  detenniriation. — 8.  Thus  did  ymir 
fathers]  The  spies  by  their  evil  report  discouraged  the  people 
from  going  forward  to  Canaan,  and  so  provoked  Yahweh's 
wrath :  the  Reubenites  and  Gadites,  if  they  succeed  in  turn- 
ing the  people  from  their  present  purpose  to  cross  Jordan, 
would  call  down  on  them  a  further  period  of  wandering  (v.^^'-). 
— 8-13  summarises  c.  13  f. —  When  I  sent  them  from  Kadesh- 
Bamed]  X'^'^^  (JE).  The  form  Kadesh-Barnea*  is  chiefly  used 
by  writers  of  the  Deuteronomic  school  (Dt.  i^^  2^*  g^^,  Jos. 
10*1  14^^);  and  also  in  34*  =  Jos.  15^!. — To  see  the  latid]  v.^; 
cp.  13^^*  (JE) ;  ct.  13^  (P),  Dt.  I-". — 9.  A7id  they  went  up  unto 
the  Wady  Eshcol]  1321a-  23a^  Y)t.  i^*. — 10.  And  He  sware,  saying] 
Dt.  i^*;  for  the  oath,  see  1421^-23. — H.  /f'rom  twenty  years  old 
and  upward]  \s^  (P). — The  land  (noixn)  which  Thou  swearest 
unto  Abraham,  unto  Isaac,  and  unto  facob]  Cp.  11^2  n. ;  in  the 
parallels  (14"^,  Dt.  i^)  pX,  and  the  summarizing  "(their) 
fathers  "  are  used. — Because  they  followed  not  fully  after  Me] 
142-*  (phil.  note).— 12a.  Cp.  1430 ;  ct.  142s  Dt.  1^^.— Caleb  the 
son  of  fephutmeh  the  Kenizzite]  Jos.  14^-^*1  (D).  In  P  (13'' 
34^^)  Caleb  Is  a  Judahite.  The  connection  of  Caleb-Kenaz 
Is  expressed  In  the  earliest  reference  to  Caleb  (Jud.  i^^). — 
13.  Summary  of  14^^"^. — And  caused  them  to  wander]  for  the 
vb.  Dy3''1  cp.  2  S.  152'',  and  the  use  of  the  Kal  part.  (W)  In  Gn. 
4^2  of  Cain ;  see  also  14^21.  ^^ — 13^  Which  did  that  which  was 
evil  in  the  eyes  of  Yahweh]  a  phrase  which  *'  gained  currency 
through  Dt."  and  Is  "  rare,  except  in  passages  written  under 
its  influence  "  (Driver,  Deut.  p.  Ixxxii,  no.  49). — 14.  A  brood 
of  sinful  men]  nmn  occurs  here  only;  like  JTaiD  (i  S.  2^^)  it  is 
a  derivative  from  n2"i,  which  frequently  occuis  In  the  phrase 
"  Be  fruitful  and  multiply." — 15.  If,  like  your  fathers,  ye  titm 
back  from  following  Him  (VinXD  pVi^^n,  as  14^^),  and  He  again 
as  before  leaves  them  in  the  wilderness,  then  ye  will  destroy  this 
wlwle  people. 


XXXII.  7-25  43^ 

1.  '.ao  DISS?]  awkwardly  removed  from  31  r^ips,  and  possibly  derived  from 
a  different  source  (Di.).  Dsy  to  be  mighty ^  numerous,  is  not  infrequent  in 
J  and  D,  but  never  occurs  in  P^  :  CH.  59JS. — njpo  mpo]  =  n:pD  px  v.^  :  cp. 
24"  n. — 3.  n^ii']  ffir  'Ze^ap.a,  S  nnac,  and  so  elsewhere  in  |^.— 4.  I'lny'?]  cp. 
31^  n.— 'e"  ny  'js"?]  ffi  S  V  ':3  ':9V.— 10.  ^k  nn'i]  v.^» ;  JE's  phrase  (ii^n.) ; 
ct.  fii-p'1  Dt.  iH— Ninn  CV3]  Jos.  14*.— 11.  n^'ai .  .  •  pa]  ffi  +  ol  iTridrdfievot 
t6  KaKbv  Koi  rh  dyaddv :  cp.  Dt.  i*®  Jt^ — H.  mso'?]  rather  njcji,  since  nsB  A» 
a£f£f,  is  badly  supported :  G.-K.  footnote  to  6gA. 

16-19.  The  G-adites  and  Reubsnites  explain. — Having  made 
their  households  and  their  cattle  secure  in  the  country  of  their 
choice,  they  are  ready  to  assist  the  other  tribes  on  the  W.  of 
Jordan  till  the  conquest  is  complete. — 16.  And  they  drew  near 
to  hiin\  the  phrase  is  used  in  Gn.  44^^  of  an  action  in  the  middle 
of  a  conversation :  cp.  Gn.  2721*-  45*. — Sheep/olds]  were  prob- 
ably built  as  to-day  more  frequently  of  stones  piled  up  without 
mortar  than  of  wooden  stakes  :  Nowack,  Heb.  Arch.  i.  226. — 
17.  If  the  questionable  text  of  |^  be  retained,  the  first  words 
should  be  rendered,  We  will  equip  ourselves  hastening  before  the 
children  of  Israel. 

20-32.  Moses  accepts  the  explanation. — 20.  Before  Yah-weh 
to  the  battle]  v.27.29^  jos.  418;  cp.  before  Vahweh,  v.^^-^^;  and 
for  the  ancient  conception  of  Yahweh  as  a  God  of  battles,  see 
21^*  n. — 21.  Until  He  (Yahweh)  dispossess  His  enemies  (cp. 
Jud.  5'^)  before  HitJi]  the  vb.  K'mn  to  cause  (others)  to  possess, 
to  dispossess,  occurs  very  frequently  in  D  with  Yahweh  as  subj. 
and  the  Canaanites  as  obj.  {e.g.  Dt.  4^9'*'*  ii~^);  see  Driver, 
Deut.  p.  Ixxix,  n.  10). — 22.  Then  afterwards  ye  may  return]  to 
your  homes  E.  of  Jordan ;  cp.  v.^^. — And  be  quit  of  obligation  at 
the  hands  of  Yahweh  and  Israel]  for  *p:  =  quit  of  obligation,  see 
Dt.  24^ ;  and  for  p  with  the  rare  sense  of  at  the  hands  of,  in  the 
judgment  of,  see  Job  4^^ :  BOB.  5796  (bottom).  —  23.  K710W 
that  your  sin  shall  find  you]  there  is,  as  we  should  say,  no 
escaping-  the  consequences.  But  like  the  curse,  another  cause 
of  calamity  (see  on  22^),  sin  is  here  represented  as  possessing 
an  independent  existence  and  able  to  exact  its  own  due ;  cp. 
Gn.  4'. — 24.  That  which  has  gone  forth  from  your  mouth  ye 
shall  perform]  30*  n. — 25.  My  lord]  the  form  (^5^N)  with  the 
sing,  suffix,  though  more  than  one  are  speaking;  so  often, 
e.g.  Gn.  23*  (Kon.  iii.  344?* /5). 


432  NUMBERS 

17.  (■'^ru]  31'  n. — D'^n]  is  explained  as  part.  pass.  (cp.  G.-K.  72/),  or 
act.  (Barth,  NB.  124c)  of  mn  to  hasten.  Others  (after  Kn.)  emend  to  cjs'sn  ; 
cp.  Jos.  i"4'-. — CN  nB'.x  -ly]  Gn.  28-^,  Is,  6^H  (always  with  pf.). — 18.  hmnr-\ 
cp.  33*^*"  34^  (P),  Is.  142  and  (rather  differently)  Lev,  25*8  (P),  Ezek. 
47'''t- — 19.  "jnjj  k'?]  this  absolute  use  of  "^m  is  not  found  in  JE  ;  in  P  it 
occurs  in  iS^"  26^*,  Jos.  16*  19". — 23b.  G.-K.  117/?:  hb'K  is  used  thus  after 
vbs.  like  J?T  and  nxT  occasionally  in  early  (Ex.  11''),  but  "with  growing 
frequency  in  late  Hebrew"  (BDB.  835,  top). — 24.  ddxj;;]  probably  a  mere 
lapsus  calami  for  ddjxs  (S) ;  but  see  Kon.  ii.  47. — 25.  nox'i]  S  no.^'i. — 27. 
K3S  pVn]  316  n. — 30.  iinxn]  On  the  form,  see  G.-K.  68/.  The  Niph.  in  this 
sense  (ct.  Gn.  22'^)  is  peculiar  to  P  ;  see  Gn.  34^"  47-^,  Jos.  22^'  ^^f.  Before 
itriNJi  ffi  inserts  Sta^t/Sdcere  rrjv  6.iro(TKevT]v  ainCiv  Kal  rds  yvvaiKa^  aiirQv  ko2 
TO.  KTTjvrj  avTuy  wporepa  v/j.uv  els  yrjv  Xavadv. — 32.  unj]  S,  as  in  the  three  other 
passages  in  the  Pent,  where  |^  has  this  abbreviated  form,  reads  i:n3N. — 
tjiik]  for  nx  used  of  what  is  in  one's  possession,  see  Gn.  27'',  i  S.  9'. 

33.  This  V.  appears  to  be  a  late  Interpolation.  For  the 
half-tribe  of  Manasseh  suddenly  appears  alongside  of  Gad  and 
Reuben ;  and  Moses,  after  promising-  the  country  under  con- 
ditions to  Gad  and  Reuben,  and  charging  Joshua  and  Ele'azar, 
subject  to  these  conditions,  to  give  it,  here  appears  to  give  it 
himself  without  conditions.  The  story  on  which  the  main  part 
of  the  present  chapter  appears  to  have  been  based  presumably 
regarded  only  the  Gadites  and  Reubenites  as  originally  settled 
E.  of  Jordan,  and  the  Manassites  as  later  settlers  in  the  district 
(cp.  on  v.^^).  Similar  attempts  have  been  made  elsewhere  to 
correct  this  older  view  by  the  insertion  of  the  phrase  '*the  half- 
tribe  of  Manasseh" ;  see  especially  Jos.  22 ;  and,  on  the  subject 
generally,  Kue.  T/i.  Tijd.  xi.  478-496.  The  later  view,  that 
Moses  determined  the  distribution  of  the  E.  territory  to  the 
Manassites  as  well  as  to  the  Gadites  and  Reubenites,  appears 
far  more  frequently  in  the  OT. ;  see  Dt.  3^^'-  4*^  29'^'-,  Jos.  12^ 
j^zo.  81  1^3  jgT^ — j'jiQ  kingdom  of  Sihon\  21^^"^^ — The  kingdom 
o/'Og\  21^^"^.  The  inelegant  close  of  the  v.  may,  perhaps, 
be  rendered  the  land,  according  to  its  cities^  with  {their) 
districtSy  even  the  cities  throughout  the  country. 

33.  11  'laV  .  .  .  onV]  for  the  occasional  occurrence  of  this  otiose  use  of 
the  pron.,  which  is  so  characteristic  of  Aramaic,  see  Kon.  iii.  340  n.;  Dr. 
Deut.  55.  Kue.  considers  DnV  original  and  the  clause  ^ovp  ,  ,  ,  "W  '33?  an 
interpolation. — 33.  oap]  not  P's  word  for  tribe  ;  4^^  n. 

34-38.  The  Gadite  and  Reubenite  cities. — The  fourteen  cities 
here  named  lie  within  the  territory  bounded  on  the  N.  by  the 


XXXII.  33-38  433 

Jabbok,  on  the  S.  by  the  Arnon,  and  on  the  W.  by  the  Jordan 
and  the  Dead  Sea.  The  most  southerly  are  'Aro'er,  which  is 
I  mile,  and  Dibon,  which  is  4  miles  N.  of  Arnon  ;  furthest 
north  and  also  furthest  east  are  Jogbehah  (el-Jubeihat)  and  (if 
identified  with  Yajuz)  Ja'zer,  which  lie  between  10  and  15 
miles  S.  of  the  Jabbok  and  nearly  as  far  E.  as  'Ammin  ( = 
Rabbath-'Ammon) ;  in  the  Jordan  valley,  some  miles  E.  of  the 
stream,  lie  Beth-nimrah  and  Beth-haram. 

Much  of  this  territory  frequently  changed  hands  ;  and  after 
the  time  of  David,  who  subdued  Moab  {2  S.  8^),  it  belonged 
now  to  Moab,  now  to  Israel ;  see  21^^  n. 

There  is  direct  evidence  that  10  at  least  of  these  towns  were  at  times 
in  Moabite  possession  (MI.  =  Mesha"s  inscription):  Dibon  (Nu  21^",  MI.  ^• 
"•  28,  Is.  152,  Jer.  4813-  ^),  'Ataroth  (MI.  i"'-),  'Aro'er  (MI.  ^,  Jer,  48'»), 
Ja'zer  (Is.  id*'-,  Jer.  4832),  Heshbon  (Nu.  2i2«-29,  Is.  15*  168,  Jer.  482-8'»-«), 
Ele'aleh  (Is.  15*  i6«,  Jer.  48'^),  Kiryathaim  (MI.  i»,  Jer.  481-  ^3,  Ezek.  258), 
Nebo  (MI.  IS  Is.  152,  Jer.  481-  "),  Ba'al-me'on  (MI.  »•«»,  Jer.  48-^  Ezek.  25«), 
and  Sibmah  (Is.  i6«-,  Jer.  ^&^). 

Even  during  the  time  that  the  territory  was  held  by  the 
Israelites,  the  ownership  of  individual  cities  changed ;  such  at 
least  is  the  Hebrew  theory,  and  there  is  in  it  nothing  intrin- 
sically improbable.  Dibon,  for  example,  is  here  Gadite,  in  Jos. 
13^'^  Reubenite ;  the  same  is  true  of  'Aro'er  (v.^,  Jos.  13^^, 
I  Ch.  5^),  unless  two  different  towns  are  intended.  Heshbon 
is  here  Reubenlte,  but  in  Jos.  21^^  Gadite.*  There  is  little  to 
control  the  biblical  data  on  these  matters.  Mesha'  (1.  10) 
refers  to  the  "men  of  Gad"  as  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  land 
of 'Ataroth  (aSyo  mnj?  pxn  3K'''  13  t^'Xl),  but  does  not  mention 
Reuben. 

According  to  the  theory  of  P  (Jos.  13^^"^^),  the  territory  of 
Reuben  lay  S.,  that  of  Gad  N.,  of  a  line  drawn  eastwards  from 
the  northern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea ;  and  this  is  the  representa- 
tion of  the  conventional  maps  of  Canaan  divided  among  the 
twelve  tribes.  But  the  point  of  view  of  the  present  chapter  is 
entirely  different ;  no  line  running  east  and  west  separates  the 

•See,    further,   W.    H.    Bennett's   tables   in   Hastings'  DB.  ("Gad,"' 
"Reuben"),  and   H.    W.    Hogg's   discussions   in   EBL   ("Gad,"   g    12; 
"Reuben,"  §  2.  14). 
28 


434  NUMBERS 

two  tribes,  for  the  two  towns  that  lie  furthest  south  ('Aro'er 
and  Dibon)  and  the  two  lying  furthest  north  (Jogbehah  and 
Ja'zer)  are  alike  Gadite. 

The  several  towns  are  mentioned  in  no  exact  geographical 
order,  though  the  Gadite  towns  fall  into  groups  (S.,  N.E.,  W.). 
Starting  in  the  far  S.  with  Dibon,  the  list  goes  N.  to  'Ataroth, 
then  furthest  south  to  'Aro'er;  it  then  mentions  the  north- 
eastern towns  Ja'zer  and  Jogbehah,  then  those  lying  W.  in 
the  Jordan  valley.  Again  from  Heshbon  (v.^'^)  it  is  N.E. 
to  Ele'aleh,  but  (probably)  S.  to  Kiryathaim :  Ba'al-me'on, 
though  it  stands  between  Nebo  and  Sibmah,  lay  S.  of  both. 
A  similar  disregard  of  geographical  order  maybe  found  In  Jer, 
^82i£r.^     It  renders  exact  identification  difficult. 

34.  And  the  children  of  Gad  huilt\  i.e.  rebuilt,  or  repaired 
the  cities  which  had  suffered  in  the  process  of  conquest :  this 
is  a  frequent  meaning  of  nj2 ;  cp.  **  And  they  shall  build  up 
(1331)  the  ancient  ruins,"  Is,  58^2  5i4.  <<  j^  Yahweh,  have  rebuilt 
(W33)  that  which  was  pulled  down,"  Ezek.  36^^;  see  also, 
e.g.,  I  K.  16^*,  Am.  g^*.  So  in  Moabite,  Mesha  says  (1.  9), 
"I  rebuilt  (psi)  Ba'al-me'on,"  and  (1.  27)  "I  rebuilt  Beth- 
bamoth,  for  it  had  been  pulled  down."  The  building  here 
intended  may  be  different  from  that  of  v.^^*  2* ;  the  writers 
are  different,  and  have  different  processes  in  mind. — Dibon] 
is  the  modern  Dhibdn,  4  miles  N.  of  Arnon  {21^^  n.).  In 
33*^'-  the  form  Dfb&n-gad  occurs ;  the  fuller  name  is  evidence 
of  the  Gadite  possession  of  the  town. — 'Atdroth^  v.^  t ;  MI.^°^-. 
The  name  means  crowns,  and  was  given  to  several  places ; 
another  on  the  E.  of  Jordan  is  mentioned  in  the  next  v.;  and 
three,  at  least,  on  the  W.  of  Jordan  existed — two  in  or  on  the 
borders  of  Ephraim  (Jos.  iG^-  ^)  and  one  (' Atroth-beth-Joab)  in 
Judah  (i  Ch.  2^^).  The  name  survives  in  the  modern  'Attarus 
which  lies  about  8  miles  N.W.  of  Dhiban.  "  On  Jebel  (Mt.) 
'Att3.riis  are  to  be  found  the  considerable  ruins  of  a  former 
town  'Attarus,  whence  the  mountain  received  its  present 
name."*  Here  and  in  v.^  'Ataroth  is  mentioned  with  Dibon, 
in  MI.  directly  after  Ba'al-me'on  and  Kiryathaim;  and, 
therefore,  it  may  well  have  occupied  the  site  of  'Attarus. — 
*  Seetzen,  Reisen,  W.  342,  cp.  iv,  3S3  ;  Tristram,  Moab,  2yi~2'j6, 


XXXII.  34-36  435 

'Aro^r]  in  addition  to  one  'Aro'er  on  the  W.  (i  S.  30^^),  there 
were  two  'Aro'ers  E.  of  Jordan ;  one  of  these,  described  as 
"'Aro'er,  which  is  on  the  edge  of  the  Wady  Arnon,"  stood  on 
the  site  of  the  ruins  of  'Ara  ir,*  which  He  on  the  N.  bank  of  the 
Arnon  ;  the  other  'Aro'er  lay  "before  {i.e.  E.  of)  Rabbah,"  and 
therefore,  very  much  further  N.  The  actual  site  has  not  been 
identified.  In  Jos.  13^^'  ^  the  southern  'Aro'er  is  described  as 
Reubenite  (cp.  i  Ch.  5^),  and  the  northern  as  Gadite ;  but,  for 
reasons  stated  above,  this  is  no  argument  for  identifying  the 
'Aro'er  of  this  v.  with  the  more  northerly  (Jos.  13^^,  Jud.  i  i^t) ; 
on  the  other  hand,  the  fact  that  it  immediately  follows  Dibon 
and  'Ataroth  does  not  prove  it  the  more  southerly.  The 
southern  'Aro'er  is  much  the  more  frequently  mentioned,  and 
serves  to  define  Israel's  southern  border  (Dt.  3^2  ^48^  2  K.  10^, 
and,  as  read  by  We.  and  Dr.,  2  S.  24^). — * Airdth-sh6phdn\ 
site  unknown,  though  in  speaking  of  'Att^rds  (see  above) 
Tristram  says:  "On  the  spot  we  find  two  places  of  the  same 
name  two  miles  apart"  {Moab,  276).  Shophan  (pIK';  S  n''atr), 
like  Addar  in  'Atroth-addar,  is  probably  enough  a  tribal  name. — 
Jdzer\  various  identifications  have  been  proposed:  see  21^*  n. 
It  certainly  seems  to  have  lain  much  further  N.  than  the  two 
first-mentioned  towns  ;  Beit  Zerah,  the  most  southerly  identi- 
fication, lies  a  few  miles  N.E.  of  Heshbon;  Yajuz,  the  most 
northerly,  some  miles  N.  of  'Amman. — Jogbehah\  Jud.  8^^  t- 
"  Jogbehah  is  surely  echoed  in  the  present  Jubeihah,  Gubeihah, 
or  'Ajbehat,  on  the  road  from  Salt  to  Amman  "  (G.  A.  Smith, 
Hist.  Geog.  585).  'Ajbehit  is  about  6  miles  N.N.W.  from 
'Ammdn. — Beth-niinraK\  lay  in  the  Jordan  valley  (Jos.  13^^), 
where  the  modern  Nimrin,  some  8  or  10  miles  N.  of  the  Dead 
Sea  and  13  E.  of  Jordan,  preserves  the  name ;  in  v.*  the 
abbreviated  form  Nimrah  is  used,  and  in  the  Talm.  Beth- 
nimrin  (Neubauer,  Geog.  du  Talrmid^  248). — Beth-haran\  lay 
in  the  same  district;  see  Jos.  132^,  where  the  name  appears  in 
the  softened  form  Beth-haram,  and  is  mentioned  immediately 
before  Beth-nimrah.  It  is  identified  by  some  with  Tel  er- 
Rameh,  a  few  miles  S.  of  Nimrin  in  the  Wady  Hesban  ;  f  by 

*  Tristram,  Moab,  129-131. 

t  Chcyne  in  EBi,  ;  cp.  Buhl,  Geog.  7.6^ 


436  NUMBERS 

others  *  with  Beit-harran  further  down  the  same  wady. — 
37  f.  The  Reubenite  towns.  —  Heshhdn\  described  as  Gadite 
in  Jos,  21^^,  is  the  modern  Hesbin  (ai^^  n.),  which  lies 
about  half-way  between  the  most  southern  (Dibon,  'Ataroth) 
and  the  most  northern  (Ja'zer,  Jogbehah)  Gadite  towns  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding-  verses.  —  Elealeh\  also  mentioned, 
and  always  in  connection  with  Heshbon,  in  v.^,  Is.  15*  16^, 
Jer.  483*1.  xhe  modern  El'Al  lies  \  hr.  N.E.  of  Hesban.f 
—  Kiryathaiin\  is,  together  with  Ba'al-me'on  and  Beth- 
jeshimoth,  described  by  Ezek.  (25^)  as  "the  glory  of  the 
country."  The  identification  with  Kureiyat,  about  3  miles 
S.E.  of  'Att^rus  and  a  long  way  S.  of  Hesbin  and  El  'Al, 
though  very  generally  accepted,  f  ought  to  be  considered  quite 
uncertain.  For  Kureiyat  may  quite  as  well  be  Kerioth.§ 
In  any  case,  the  name  is  of  too  common  a  character  (see 
EBi.  **  Names,"  §  105)  to  be  a  sufficient  ground  of  identi- 
fication. None  of  the  biblical  references  require  a.  place 
so  far  to  the  S. ;  and  the  fact  that  it  is  elsewhere  associated 
with  places  further  N.  is,  though  not  conclusive,  rather 
in  favour  of  a  more  northern  site :  here  it  stands  between 
Ele'aleh  and  Nebo;  it  is  coupled  with  Nebo  in  Jer.  48^ 
and  stands  between  Ba'al-me'on  and  'Ataroth  in  MI. ;  see 
also  Jos.  13!^  Jer.  4823,  Ezek.  25^.— 38.  Nebo]  the  Moablte 
town  of  Nebo  (also  v.^  33'''^,  Is.  15^,  Jer.  48^-22,  i  Ch.  s^t; 
MI.  1.  14)  probably  lay  on,  or  near,  Mt.  Nebo  (Dt.  32*^  34^  t), 
which  is  identified  with  the  modern  Mt.  Neba,  5  miles  S.W. 
of  Hesban.[|  In  this  case  Nebo  lay  S.W.  of  the  two  first- 
mentioned  Reubenite  towns,  N.  of  that  which  immediately 
precedes,  if  Kureiyat  =  Kiryathaim,  and  N.  also  of  that  which 
follows,  Ba'al-me'on.  The  name  Nebo  is  probably  a  survival 
of  the  worship  in  the  district  of  the  Babylonian  god  Nebo  (Is. 

*  Tristram,  Moab,  348  ;  Di. 

t  Survey  of  Eastern  Pal.,  \.  16-19;  Tristram,  Moab,  339  f.;  EBi. 

X  Smith,  Hist.  Geog.  567  n.  i  ;  Buhl,  Geog.  267  ;  cp.  Tristram,  Moab, 
275  f.;  Di. 

§  Cp.  Seetzen,  Reisen,  il.  342,  iv.  384 ;  Nold.  Die  Inschrift  des  Konigs 
Mesa,  25  f. 

II  Tristram,  Moab,  325  flf.;  Merrill,  E.  of  Jordan,  242  ff.;  Survey  of  E. 
Pal.  \.  igSf.;  Driver,  Deut.  418  f. 


XXXII.  37,  38  437 

46^),*  though  an  alternative  explanation  is  offered  by  the 
Arabic  i^UJJl,  the  height.\  In  any  case  the  evidence  is 
insufficient  to  establish  Moahite  worship  of  Nebo ;  the  name 
may  go  back  beyond  the  Moabite  occupation. — Bdal-meoii] 
I  Ch.  58,  Ezek.  25^!  ;  MI. 9;  other  forms  of  the  name  occur, 
viz.  Beth-ba'al-me'on  (Jos.  13^^;  MI.^O),  Beth-me'on  (Jer, 
48^^),  Be'on  (v.^t),  the  last  being  probably  a  mere  transcrip- 
tional error  for  Me'on.  The  name  indicates  that  the  place  vi^as 
a  religious  centre :  on  this  and  the  variant  forms  see  HPN. 
i26ff.  It  was  known  to  Jerome  as  Baal-maus  [OS.  102'^),  and 
in  its  simplest  form  the  name  has  survived  in  the  modern 
Ma'm,J  which  lies  some  5  miles  S.  of  Nebd  and  some  8  N.  of 
Kureiyat. — To  he  changed  in  name]  the  words  appear  to  be  a 
gloss  directing  the  reader  to  substitute  something  for  the  two 
preceding  names,  and  so  avoid  the  necessity  for  pronouncing 
the  names  of  foreign  deities.  The  dislike  of  the  later  scribes 
to  the  retention  of  Ba'al  in  proper  names  is  well  known,  and 
has  left  its  mark  on  the  text  of  the  books  of  Samuel,  as,  e.g., 
in  the  corruptions  Ishbosheth  and  Mephibosheth  for  Eshba'al 
and  Meri-ba'al ;  see  HPN.  121  ff.—Szb?nah]  ]os.  13^^,  Is.  168 % 
Jer.  48^^!;  cp.  Sebam,  v.^  f  ;  the  site  is  unknown. — And  they 
called  with  names  the  names  of  the  cities  that  they  had  built] 
this  is  generally  interpreted  to  mean :  they  gave  new  (EV. 
"other")  names  to  the  cities. 

35.  nniri]  the  nx  before  nray  is  anomalously  omitted. — 37.  cmp]  it  is 
disputed  whether  the  ending  is  that  of  the  dual  {two,  or  iwtn  cities),  or  a 
local  ending  ;  see  EBu  "  Names,"  §  107.— 38.  DtJ-  nnoio]  the  part,  can  quite 
as  well  be  read  as  a  sing.  nsDio,  so  that  the  clause  would  refer  to  pj;D  ?y3 
only.  On  the  gerundial  force  of  the  part.,  especially  in  the  Niphal,  see 
Dav.  97,  R.  I.     For  the  word,  of  a  change  of  name,  cp.  2  K.  23^  (nx  3Dn 

C'P'I.T  ICB")  24". 

39-42.  Manassite  incursions  E.  of  Jordan. — This  passage 
is  a  fragment.  Nothing  that  precedes  indicates  a  starting- 
point  from  whence  Machir,  Jair,  and  Nobah  set  out.  It  should 
also  be  observed  that  the  separate  action  of  these  clans  is 

*  Baethgen,  Beitmge,  15.  89;  Baudissin,  Studien,  233  ;  KAT,^  afirj, 

t  So  Nold.  ZDMG.  xlii,  470. 

XSurveyofE,  Pal.  i.  176;  Tristram,  Moab,  303  f. 


438  NUMBERS 

entirely  unlike  the  common  action  of  all  Israel  presupposed 
throughout  the  rest  of  the  chapter. 

Both  in  its  historical  standpoint  and  in  its  style  this  frag- 
ment closely  resembles  Jud.  i.  The  same  kind  of  independ- 
ent action  here  attributed  to  the  clans  of  Manasseh  is  there 
attributed  to  the  tribes  of  Israel.  Both  here  and  there  the 
Hebrews  occupy  bits  of  country  within  a  larger  district,  but 
not  the  whole  country,  whether  as  here  E.,  or  there  W.,  of 
Jordan. 

Phraseolog-tcally  note  i:Vi  v.*^,  ^'?.^  v.^"-,  and  cp.  Jud.  i^***  "'• " ;  imaS'i 
v.^,  id'?'!  v.'*"',  and  cp.  Jud.  i,  passim.  137,  frequent  especially  in  earlier 
sources,  is  never  used  by  P  (BDB.  s.v.).  Note  also  .Tnm  (v.^^)  of  towns 
dependent  on  another :  cp.  Jud.  i^. 

Probably,  then,  this  fragment  is  altogether  misplaced.  It 
originally  formed  part  of  an  account  of  the  conquest  after 
Moses'  death ;  and  v.*°  (an  interpolation  which  destroys  the 
connection  between  v.^  and  v.*^)  is  an  editorial  attempt  to 
antedate  Manasseh's  occupation  of  country  E.  of  Jordan,  and 
to  accommodate  the  fragment  to  its  present  position ;  cp.  the 
similar  editorial  comment  in  Dt.  3^^  (see  Driver's  note  there). 

Other  considerations  favour  the  substantial  correctness  of 
this  view.  Ja'ir,  who  gave  his  name  to  the  Havvoth-ja'ir 
(v.^^),  lived,  according  to  Jud.  ro^^-,  in  an  age  subsequent  to 
Moses.  According  to  an  early  statement  (Jos.  17^*"^^  J),  Joseph 
{i.e.  Ephraim  and  Manasseh)  at  first  received  only  one  lot  in 
the  distribution  of  the  country.  This  could  hardly  have  been 
asserted  or  admitted  by  one  who  held  with  the  author  of  v.*** 
that  Moses  had  given  Gile'ad  to  Manasseh,  for  the  one  lot  of 
Joseph  certainly  lay  W.  of  Jordan.  It  is  probable  that  the 
present  fragment  is  derived  from  a  fuller  narrative,  which 
described  how  several  clans  of  Manasseh  separated  from 
their  fellow  tribesmen  on  the  west  of  Jordan,  and  acquired 
settlements  on  the  east.  Thus  the  earliest  Hebrew  traditions 
appear  to  make  the  settlement  of  Manasseh  W.  of  Jordan 
more  ancient  than  the  settlement  of  a  part  of  this  tribe  E.  of 
Jordan. 

Budde  {Ruhter  u.  Samuel,  32-39,  59 f.,  87;  and  later,  with  some 
counter   criiicisuis   of  his  critics,  in   his   commentarj'   on  Judges  (1897), 


XXXII.  39-41  439 

p.  12  f.)  thinks  the  original  home  of  the  fragment  was  in  J's  account  of  the 
conquests  of  the  house  of  Joseph,  other  fragments  of  which  are  preserved 
in  Jos.  171^-18  13^^:  from  the  three  fragments  he  reconstructs  as  follows: 
"  Then  the  house  of  Joseph  spoke  with  Joshua,  and  said,  Why  hast  thou 
given  me  but  one  lot,  seeing  I  am  a  great  people,  forasmuch  as  hitherto 
Yahweh  hath  blessed  me?  The  hill-country  is  not  enough  for  us:  and 
the  Canaanites  that  dwell  in  the  land  of  the  valley  can  I  not  drive 
out,  because  they  are  too  strong  for  me.  For  they  have  chariots  of 
iron,  both  they  who  are  in  Beth-shean  and  her  towns,  and  they  who  are 
in  the  valley  of  Jezreel.  And  Joshua  spoke  unto  the  house  of  Joseph, 
Thou  art  a  great  people,  and  hast  great  power :  thou  shalt  not  have  one 
lot  only.  But  let  the  hill-country  of  Gile'ad  be  thine  ;  get  thee  up  into  the 
forest,  and  cut  down  for  thee  there,  since  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim 
is  too  narrow  for  thee  ;  and  the  goings  out  thereof  shall  be  thine.  Then 
went  Machir,  the  son  of  Manasseh,  to  Gile'ad,  and  took  it,  and  drove 
out  the  'Amorites  who  dwelt  there.  And  Ja'ir,  the  son  of  Manasseh,  went 
and  took  their  tent-villages,  and  called  them  the  tent-villages  of  Ja'ir. 
And  Nobah  .  .  .  went  and  took  Kenath  and  the  villages  thereof,  and 
called  them  Nobah  after  his  own  name.  But  the  children  of  Israel  could 
not  drive  out  the  Geshurites  and  the  Maachathites,  and  so  Geshur  and 
Maacha  dwelt  in  the  midst  of  Israel  unto  this  day." 

Whether  the  statement  of  the  fragment,  even  if  thus  correctly  restored 
to  its  original  context  and  interpreted,  corresponds  to  actual  history  or 
is  merely  an  early  theory,  must  be  left  doubtful.  "  The  arguments  to 
prove  the  invasion  of  Northern  Gile'ad  from  W.  Palestine  .  .  .  are  incon- 
clusive" (G.  A.  Smith,  Hist,  Geog.  577 n.).  This  may  be  so;  but  the 
arguments  for  the  converse  order  in  Manasseh's  movements  are  still  less 
conclusive.  The  statements  of  26-^'*  (P)  and  Jos.  17^  (not  safely  to  be 
referred  to  JE)  area  precarious  support  for  the  conclusion  that  Gile'ad 
is  actually  "older  in  Manasseh's  history"  than  Abi'ezer  and  Shechem, 
though  it  is  certainly  P's  theory  that  this  was  the  case ;  see  on  26-^"^-. 

S9.  TJic  children  of  Machir^  i.e.  the  members  of  the 
Manassite  dan  Machir  (aS^^^n.);  so  Jos.  13^^:  but  the  original 
text  perhaps  read,  as  in  the  interpolated  v.^''  and  Dt.  3^', 
simply  Machir;  cp.  Ja'ir,  Nobah  in  v.*^^-  and  Machir  in  Jud. 
5^*. —  Went  to  Gile'ad\  they  probably  started  from  W.  Palestine; 
see  above.  Northern  Gile'ad  is  intended:  see  on  v.^. — The 
Amorite\  cp.  13^^  n. — 40.  An  interpolation,  which  interrupts 
the  connection  between  v.^^  and  v.^^  by  depriving  the  pronoun 
{*^.their  tent-villages")  in  the  next  v.  of  any  immediate  ante- 
cedent ;  see  also  above. — 41.  Jair  the  son  of  Maiiasseh]  i.e. 
the  Manassite  clan  Ja'ir ;  the  relation  of  this  clan  to  the  tribe 
is  differently  expressed  in  different  places :  in  i  Ch.  2"^'-  Ja'ir  is 
the  great-grandson  of  Machir.  On  the  different  genealogical 
schemes  of  Manasseh,  see  Kue.  in  the  Th.  Tijd.  xi.  483  ff.,  and 


440  NUMBERS 

Driver  in  Hasting-s'  DB.  (**  Manasseh  ").  Ja'ir  may  have  been 
subordinated,  even  in  this  passage,  to  Machir  as  well  as  to 
Manasseh,  if  the  Havvoth-Ja'ir  be  placed  in  Gile'ad  (see  next 
note) ;  for  Machir  would  be  credited  with  the  conquest  of  the 
whole,  the  subdivision  Ja'ir  with  but  part  of  the  Manassite 
territory  E.  of  Jordan.  The  judge  Ja'ir  (Jud.  lo^^-)  appears 
to  be  merely  an  individualisation  of  the  clan ;  see  Moore, 
Judges,  271. — Their  tent-villages\  the  pronoun  (sufiix)  refers 
to  the  collective  term  "the  Amorite  "  in  v.^^;  it  can  refer  to 
nothing  in  v.**',  which  is  thus  shown  to  be  out  of  place.  The 
word  havvoth  is  elsewhere  in  Hebrew  confined  to  the  com- 
pound phrase  Havvoth-jalr.  Judging  from  the  Arabic  hvwa 
and  hayy  (  =  Heb.  Ti  \  S.  18^^),  the  havvoth  were  encampments 
or  groups  of  tents.*  But  the  name  determines  the  character 
of  the  places  only  at  the  time  when  it  was  given.  It  may 
have  clung  to  them  long  after  the  tents  had  given  way  to 
more  permanent  buildings  or  had  even  become  fortified  cities ; 
just  as  Hasor,  though  the  name  means  simply  an  encloszire, 
was  already,  in  the  14th  century  B.C.,  a  royal  city  mentioned 
along  with  Sidon.f  Probably  the  Havvoth-ja'ir  were  already 
more  than  mere  tent-villages  when  Jud.  lo^^-  was  written, 
although  the  term  (D''T'y)  there  used  is  not  conclusive  proof  of 
this  (see  13^^  n.).  The  Havvoth-ja'ir  are  also  mentioned  in 
Dt.  3^*,  Jos.  1330,  Jud.  loS  I  K.  413,  and  i  Ch.  2^.  It  need 
cause  no  difficulty  that  though  generally  described,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  present  passage,  as  Manassite,  they  are  excep- 
tionally represented  in  Ch.  as  being  in  the  possession  of  a 
mixed  Judseo-Manassite  population :  for  the  tribal  character 
of  a  population  may  vary  in  the  course  of  centuries.  Nor  is 
the  difference  in  number  in  Jud.  (30)  and  in  Ch.  (23)  serious. 
Much  more  difficulty  is  caused  by  the  conflicting  evidence  as 
to  the  district  in  which  these  places  lay — in  Gile'ad  according 
to  Jud.,  I  K.,  I  Ch.,  in  Bashan  according  to  Dt.  and  Jos. 
The  present  passage  would  exclude  Gile'ad  if  it  means  that 
Machir  took  Gile'ad,  Ja'ir  a  district  outside  Gile'ad :  but 
another  interpretation  is  possible  (last  note).     Different  ways 

*  W.  R.  Smith,  Rel.  Sem.^  256;  Moore,  Judges,  83 f.,  274 f. 
•    t  Tel  el-Amarna  Tablets,  154^' ;  see  £Bt,  "Names,"  §  105. 


XXXIL  43  441 

out  of  the  difficulty  have  been  sugg-ested:  (i)  Glle'ad  in  its 
widest  sense  (cp.  on  v.^)  includes  Bashan :  even  if  this  be 
admitted,  it  does  not  appear,  in  view  of  i  K.  4^^,  to  solve  the 
difficulties  of  the  Havvoth-ja'ir  (see  Driver,  Deut.  56  f.).  (2)  The 
reference  of  these  places  to  Bashan  originated  with  an  attempt 
to  harmonise  Dt.  3^*  with  Nu.  223''-  *"  (Driver,  ib.).  (3)  Gile'ad 
is  a  textual  corruption  of  Salhad  (  =  Salchah,  a  border  town 
between  Bashan  and  Gile'ad);  Cheyne  in  EBi.  ("Havvoth- 
Jair,"  "Jair,"  "Jephthah,"  "Gilead").  If  (3)  be  right  the 
Havvoth-ja'ir  lay  far  to  the  N.E.,  near  Bosra  and  Salhad; 
if  (2),  S.,  if  (i)  N.,  of  the  Jarmuk.  The  name  has  not  survived, 
and  nearer  localisation  is  in  any  case  impossible. — 42.  Nohah 
was  presumably,  like  Machir  and  Ja'ir,  a  Manassite  clan : 
"son  of  Manasseh  "  may  have  dropped  out.  Nobah  conquers 
Kendth  and  the  dependent  towns  thereof.  Kenath  is  called 
Nobah  after  the  name  of  the  conquering  clan:  cp.  Jud.  18-^. 
The  new  name  given  in  other  cases  to  old  towns  is  of  a 
different  character;  see,  e.g.,  Gn.  28^®,  2  K.  14'^.  In  i  Ch. 
2^  the  old  name  Kenath  is  used ;  possibly  in  the  present 
instance  the  new  name  failed  to  establish  itself;  for  it  cannot 
be  assumed  with  any  certainty  that  this  city  is  the  Nobah  of 
Jud.  8^^t  which  lay  near  Jogbehah.  If  we  are  not  bound  by 
Jud.  8^^,  nothing  prevents  identifying  Kenath  with  the  modern 
Kanawdt,  which  "was  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Hauran 
mountains,  in  a  beautiful  neighbourhood,  rich  in  water  and 
trees,"  and  was  in  Roman  times  a  place  of  importance.*  The 
identification,  depending  as  it  does  on  identity  of  name,  is 
not  certain ;  but,  if  correct,  Kenath  marks  the  extreme  N.E. 
limit  of  Manasseh's  territory.!  Kenath  and  Havvoth-ja'ir 
both  lay  in  districts  that  suffered,  at  an  unknown  but  pos- 
sibly early  date,  capture  by  the  Arama;ans  (i  Ch.  2P,  cp. 
Jos.  1313), 

39.  enn  ynrh"^  .  .  .  1*20  'n  wSi]  If  the  original  text,  as  suggested 
above,  read  T3D  instead  of  'd  'ja,  the  vbs.  read  originally  enrt  ihid"?'!  .  .  .  1^*1. 
The  singular  bhi'i  in  the  present  text  is  capricious,  and  may  be,  as  Di. 
suggests,  a  (Massoretic)  preparation  for  the  sing.  T3D  of  v.*". 

*  Buhl,  Geog-.  252 ;  Schurer,  CJV.^  ii.  131  ff.  (Eng.  tr.  II.  i.  108  ff.). 
+  Buhl,  Ceo^.  80. 


442  NUMBERS 

XXXIII.   1-49.  The  Itinerary, 

The  Itinerary  enumerates  41  stages,  or  40  stations,  between 
Ra'amses,  the  starting-point  at  the  Exodus,  and  the  final 
encampment  of  the  Israelites  by  the  Jordan. 

It  contains  two  dates :  the  date  of  the  start,  which  is  given 
as  the  15th  day  of  the  ist  month  (of  the  ist  year),  and  the 
date  of  Aaron's  death,  which  took  place  on  the  ist  day  of  the 
5th  month  of  the  40th  year  (v.^),  and  at  the  33rd  station. 

Clearly,  then,  the  40  stations  are  not  intended  to  be  40 
places  at  each  of  which  the  Israelites  spent  one  of  the  40  years 
of  wandering.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  compiler  shared  the 
belief  that  the  people  left  Sinai  within  about  a  year  of  the 
Exodus  (10^^  n.),  and  were  waiting  to  pass  over  Jordan  at  the 
end  of  the  40th  year,  then  he  refers  1 1  stations  to  the  first  year, 
9  to  the  last,  and  assigns  but  21  to  the  remaining  38  years. 

Nor  do  the  stages  represent  a  day's  march;  for  'Esion- 
geber  and  Kadesh,  though  consecutive  stations,  are  70  miles 
apart.     See  also  v.®. 

Very  few  of  the  sites  are  accurately  identified.  Many  are 
altogether  unknown.  Apart  from  Punon,  16  are  mentioned 
nowhere  outside  the  itinerary. 

The  places  most  clearly  identified  are  'Esion-geber,  Kadesh, 
Dibon-gad,  Nebo,  and  the  steppes  of  Moab.  With  these  and 
the  Egyptian  starting-point  to  work  upon,  it  is  possible  to 
discover  certain  general  conceptions  underlying  the  itinerary. 

The  itinerary  may  be  divided  into  four  sections  (names 
peculiar  to  it  being  italicised),  thus : — 

1.  Ra'amses  to  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  v.*^^. 

II  stages:  Succoth,  Etham,  Pi-hahiroth,  Marah, 
Elim,  Red  Sea,  wilderness  of  Sin,  Dophkah^  Alush^ 
Rephidim,  wilderness  of  Sinai. 

2.  Wilderness  of  Sinai  to  'Esion-geber,  v.^'''^^. 

20  stages:  Kibroth-hatta'avah,  Haseroth,  Rithmah^ 
Riminoii-PereSy  Libnahy  Rissah,  Kehelafhah,  Mi. 
Shepher,  Haradah,  Makheloih,  Tahath,  Terah^ 
Mithkahy  Hashmonah,  Moseroth,  Bene-ja'akan, 
Hor-hag-gidgad,  Jotbathah, ' Abro}iakf''Es\on-gebQT, 


XXXIII.  443 

3-  'Esion-geber  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin  =  Kadesh,  v.^. 
I  stage. 

4.  Kadesh  to  the  steppes  of  Moab,  v.^^~*^. 

9  stages :  Mt.  Hor,  Salmonah^  Punon,  Oboth,  *Iyye- 
'Abarim,  Dibon-gad,  'Almon-diblathaim,  Mts.  of 
the  'Abailm  before  Nebo,  steppes  of  Moab 

Section  i  may,  for  aught  that  appears  to  the  contrary,  pre- 
suppose a  simple  direct  Hne  of  march  from  Egypt  to  Sinai. 
Sections  3  and  4  imply  the  following  successive  movements : 
first  a  movement  N.W.  from  the  top  of  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah 
('Esion-geber)  to  'Ain-Kadis  (Kadesh),  then  a  movement 
which  is  in  its  total  effect  N.E.  (across  the  northern  part  of 
Edom  and  through  the  south  of  Moab  to  Dibon-gad),  then 
one  N.  through  the  north  of  Moab,  and  finally  a  descent  into 
the  Jordan  valley  E.  of  the  river.  Thus,  like  P^  (21^*^  n.),  the 
itinerary  recognises  no  southern  movement  from  Kadesh. 

Section  2  gives  20  stations  between  the  wilderness  of 
Sinai  and  'Esion-geber.  Yet  even  if  the  traditional  site  of 
Sinai  be  correct,  the  distance  between  Sinai  and  'Esion-geber 
is  but  little  greater  than  that  between  'Esion-geber  and 
Kadesh ;  it  is  considerably  less  if  Sinai  lay  near  the  top 
of  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah  (lo^*'  n.).  The  stations  in  this 
section  can  therefore  scarcely  be  given  as  points  on  a  route ; 
they  are  rather  points  scattered  over  a  district  of  which 
'Esion-geber  and  Kadesh  may  be  taken  as  being  respectively 
the  southern  and  northern  points.  Thus  section  2  probably 
gives  the  places  visited  during  the  period  of  wandering ; 
they  correspond  in  the  itinerary  to  the  wilderness  of  Paran 
in  P^ 

The  literary  features  of  the  itinerary  are  these:  in  the 
main  it  closely  resembles  P,  alike  in  style  and  matter ;  here 
and  there  it  resembles  JE  in  both  respects;  it  also  contains 
matter  peculiar  to  itself. 

I.  The  resemblances  to  P  are  as  follows  :  (a)  In  matter.  All  stations 
mentioned  in  P  are  incorporated  in  the  itinerary  except  the  wilderness  of 
Paran.  These  include  many  stations  mentioned  only  in  P's  narrative 
(Pi-hahiroih,  Sin,  Sinai,  Sin,  Mt.  Hor,  Oboth,  'lyye-'Abarim,  Mts.  of  the 
'Abarim,  steppes  of  Moab).     Note,  further,  that  the  age  of  Aaron  (v.*^)  is 


444  NUMBERS 

in  agreement  with  matter  peculiar  to  P  (Ex.  7'')  ;  with  v.*''  cp.  Ex.  I2^(P) ; 
with  v.^''  cp.  Ex.  14^1'''  (P) ;  with  v.^  cp.  20--'-^  (P) ;  see  also  notes  on 
y_6. 8. 14b.  48b^  (6)  In  Style.  Note  ...  3  tin-i  .  .  .  JD  iVD'i  throughout,  and 
cp.  21*  n.  ;  also  the  superscription  (v.^),  the  dates  (v.^*^^),  □riNns'?  (v.^)  etc. 

2.  The  resemblances  to  JE  consist  of:  (a)  Certain  places  mentioned  by 
JE  but  not  by  P  (Marah,  Kibroth-hatta'avah,  Haseroth,  Moseroth,  Bene- 
ja'akan,  Hor-hag-gidgad,  Jotbathah,  'Esion-geber,  Shittim).  On  the  other 
hand,  several  places  (such  as  Shur,  Tab'erah,  Hormah,  and  the  seven 
places  given  in  2i^^''^"  ^^''^)  which  are  mentioned  in  JE  do  not  occur  in  the 
itinerary;  and  whereas  in  JE  Haseroth  and  Kadesh  are  successive 
places,  the  itinerary  places  eighteen  between  them,  (b)  Notes  embodying 
matter  peculiar  to,  or  expressed  in  language  practically  identical  with 
that  of,  JE;  see  v.8''-»-*>. 

3.  Entirely  peculiar  to  the  chapter  are  the  sixteen  places  italicised 
above,  and  the  statements  of  v.^-  *^^^. 

These  facts  seem  best  accounted  for  by  assuming-  that  the 
itinerary  was  compiled  at  a  late  date  from  P  and  JE  and 
some  other  source,  oral  or  written,  no  long-er  extant.  If,  as 
some  think,  the  incident  at  Rephidim  is  misplaced  in  Ex.  17, 
and  in  the  original  source  followed  the  stay  at  Horeb,  the 
position  of  Rephidim  here  would  indicate  that  the  itinerary 
was  compiled  from  the  combined  \^or^  PJE  :  in  any  case  this  is 
perhaps  most  probable :  for  note  also  v.^°  =  21^  (JE)  following- 

V  37-39  _  20-2-29  (P). 

Others  [e.g.  Di.)  are  of  opinion  that  the  itinerary  is  in 
substance  older  than  P^  and  was  used  by  him,  but  that  it 
was  subsequently  interpolated  with  glosses,  some  of  which 
were  drawn  from  JE. 

1  f.  The  style  is  awkward  and  redundant,  and  may  be  repre- 
sented in  translation  as  follows:  These  are  the  stages  (lo^-^^ 
notes)  of  the  children  of  Israel  by  which  they  made  their  exodus 
from  the  land  of  Egypt  by  their  hosts  iinder  the  authoHty  C^? 
cp.  2  S.  18^)  of  Moses  and  Aaron.  And  Moses  "wrote  down  their 
starting-places  on  their  several  stages,  according  to  Yahweh's 
commandment  (CH.  19  ) :  and  these  are  their  stages,  [defined) 
by  their  several  starthig-places.  The  other  references  to  the 
Mosaic  authorship  of,  or  authority  for,  parts  of  the  Hexateuch 
are  in  JE  (Ex.  17I*  24*  342'*-  :  cp.  Jos.  2426)  and  D  (Dt.  si^-^^). 
Some  [e.g.  Di.)  infer  that  the  compiler  must  in  these  cases, 
including  the  present,  have  had  before  him  an  ancient  written 
source  which  he  believed  to  have  been  written  by  Moses. — 


XXXIII.  i-i8  445 

3.  Raamses  Is  mentioned  both  in  P  (Gn.  47"  and,  probably, 
Ex.  12^^)  and  in  JE  (Ex.  i^^).  See  the  commentaries  on  these 
passages. — On  the  morrow  after  the  passover\  the  same  phrase 
(nODH  ninDO)  occurs  in  Jos.  5^^  (P) :  op.  T\1Z'r\  mn»D  Lev. 
2oii.  i5f.^  Passover  was  eaten  in  the  afternoon  or  evening 
(D''n"iyn  p  9^  n.)  of  the  14th  day  of  the  ist  month  (Ex.  \2^-^). 
—  With  a  high  ]iand\  X'^^  n. — In  the  sight  of  all  the  Egyptians] 
cp.  Ex.  12^^  (JE). — 4.  The  Egyptians  were  already  engaged 
in  burying  their  dead  when  the  Hebrews  departed.  This  is 
not  stated  in  Ex.  With  v.*^  cp.  Ex.  12^2  (P).— 5.  Ex.  123^^ 
(?P),_6.  Ex.  1320  (P).  —  7.  Ex.  142-9  (P).  — 8.  From  before 
("•320)  Hahtroth  is  an  obvious  error  for  from  Pi-ha-hiroth 
(nTnn  "'SD),  which  was  read,  or  restored,  by  S  (!r°  S^  U. — In  the 
midst  of  the  sea]  Ex.  1422  (P) :  ct.  142^^  (J). — And  they  went 
three  day s^  journey  (10^^  n.)  into  the  wilderness]  cp.  Ex.  3^^  1522 
(J)- — Of  Etham]  the  wilderness  is  here  defined  by  Etham 
(v.«-),  in  Ex.  1522  by  Shnr.—Marah]  v.^,  Ex.  15231  (J)._ 
9.  And  they  came  .  .  .  and  encamped  there]  but  for  two  slight 
verbal  variations  this  is  identical  with  Ex.  152'^  (JE) ;  Elitn  also 
appears  in  Ex.  16^  (P). — 10a,  lib.  Ex.  16^  (P)  :  the  station  by 
Yam  Suph  (v.^"^-"^)  is  unknown  to  Ex.— 12f.  Dophkah  and 
yi/?<^A  are  unidentified  places,  mentioned  only  here  ;  for  some 
guesses,  depending  on  particular  theories  of  the  routes  of  the 
Exodus,  see  Di.  on  Ex.  17^  For  Dophkah^  fflr  reads  Raphaha. 
—14.  Rephidim]  Ex.  17^  (E),  17^  19^  (P  or  R).— 14b  recalls  the 
phraseology  both  of  202  (P)  and  Ex.  if^  (JE).— 15.  Ex.  i92'*(P). 
—16.  Kibroth-hattdavah]  ii^^-  (JE),  Dt. 9221.-17.  Haseroth] 
1 1^5  12^6  (JE),  Dt.  i^  ;  see  i  i^s  n.— 18b-29.  None  of  the  twelve 
places  here  mentioned  (unless  Lihnah  (v.20)  =  Laban,  Dt. 
i^)  is  mentioned  anywhere  else,  and  for  none  of  them  has 
even  a  probable  identification  been  suggested,  though  many 
guesses  have  been  put  forward.  From  the  position  which 
these  places  occupy  in  the  itinerary,  it  is  probable  that  the 
compiler  thought  them  to  be  situated  in  the  wilderness  of 
Paran  (see  above). — 18.  Rithmah]  appears  to  be  one  of  the 
class  of  place-names  derived  from  plants,  etc.  {EBi.  "  Names," 
§  103).  The  Heb.  rothem  (Ar.  ratam,  Aram,  rithmd)  is  the 
name  of  a  broom-plant,  which  grew  in  the  deserts  (i  K.  19^'-, 


446  NUMBERS 

Job  30^),  and,  according  to  a  modern  traveller,*  is  "the 
largest  and  most  conspicuous  shrub  of  these  deserts  [S.  of 
Palestine],  growing  in  the  water-courses  and  valleys."  It  is 
chosen  by  the  Arabs  on  account  of  its  shelter  when  encamp- 
ing. The  modern  name  Abu  Retemat  is  attached  to  "a 
wide  plain  with  shrubs  and  retem "  on  the  route  between 
'Akabah  and  Jerusalem  (Robinson).  Rithmah  is  thus  *'a  not 
unnatural  name  for  a  station  on  the  desert's  verge  "  ;  t  but  for 
this  very  reason  the  identification  of  Rithmah,  merely  on  the 
ground  of  the  name,  with  Abu  Retemat  is  most  hazardous. 
The  names,  v.^''  Rimmon-peres  and  v.^^  Libnah  {poplar),  may 
be  of  the  same  character,  though  both  are  ambiguous :  on 
Rimmon,  see  13^  n.  (p.  143);  and  Libnah  may  owe  its  name  to 
moon-worship  {EBi.  •*  Names,"  §  95).  Peres  forms  parts  of 
other  names  (Peres-'uzzah ;  Ba'al-perasim).  Libnah  is  also 
the  name  of  a  town  in  Judah  (Jos.  lo^^).  With  Kehelathah 
(v.-^)  and  Makheloth  (v.^^),  cp.  the  Sabaean  place-names  D^np, 
\>T\\> ;  \  with  Haradah  (v.^*),  Harod,  itself,  however,  a  rather 
questionable  name  (Jud.  7^) ;  with  Hashmonali  (v.^*^),  Heshmon 
(Jos.  15^^).  Terah  and  Tahath  occur  elsewhere  in  the  OT.  as 
personal  names.  With  Rissah  (v.^ ;  C5^  /Jecrcra),  cp.  the  Rasa 
of  the  Peutinger  Tables.  Some  resemblances  may  be  detected 
in  modern  names. §  There  is  no  reason  to  question  that  these 
otherwise  unknown  names  are  genuine  names  of  places, 
though  some  of  them  are  very  possibly  more  or  less  corrupt. 
The  remarks  of  Doughty  {Ar.  Des.  i.  49)  on  the  subject  of 
"the  camping  grounds  of  Moses"  are  worth  citing:  "All 
their  names  we  may  never  find  again  in  these  countries, — and 
wherefore?  Because  they  were  in  good  part  passengers' 
names,  and  without  land-right  they  could  not  remain  in  the 
desert,  in  the  room  of  the  old  herdsmen's  names.  There  is 
yet  another  kind  of  names,  not  rightly  of  the  country,  not 
*cnown  to  the  Beduins,  which  are  caravaners^  names.  The 
::aravaners  passing  in  haste,  with  fear  of  the  nomads,  know 

•  Robinson,  Biblical  Researches,  i.  299,  279, 
t  Clay  Trumbull,  Kadesh-Barnea,  151. 
+  Ges.-Buhl,  s.vv. 
§  Palmer,  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  ^o8  f. 


XXXIII.  30-40  447 

not  the  wide  wilderness  without  their  landmarks;  nor  even 
in  the  way,  have  they  a  right  knowledge  of  the  hind  names. 
What  wonder  if  we  find  not  again  some  which  are  certainly 
caravaners'  names  in  the  old  itineraries." — 30-34.  The  four 
names,  Moserothy  Bene-ja  aknn,  Hor-hag-gidgad^  ?t.ndJotbathahy 
are,  in  spite  of  some  variations  of  order  and  form,  identical 
with  the  four  names,  Be'eroth-bene-ja'akan,  Moserah,  Gud- 
godah,  and  Jotbathah,  which  occur  in  a  fragment  of  an 
itinerary  (Dt.  lo^')  generally  referred  to  E.  The  fragment  in 
Dt.  differs  from  the  present  itinerary  in  placing  Aaron's  death 
at  Moserah  instead  of  Mt.  Hor  (below,  v.^^).  Direct  literary 
dependence  of  either  passage  on  the  other  is  therefore  im- 
probable ;  and  these  places  must  have  been  firmly  associated 
with  the  traditions  of  the  wanderings  at  an  early  date.  For 
attempts  to  harmonise  the  discrepancies,  see  Driver,  Deut. 
iigff. — Bene-jd akaii\  is  an  abbreviation  of  the  fuller  form  of 
the  name  which  is  preserved  in  Dt.,  Be'eroth-  (the  wells  of) 
bene  -  ja'akan.  The  result  of  the  abbreviation  is  that  the 
tribal  denomination  has  become  a  place-name ;  cp.  EBi. 
"Names,"  §  92.  If,  as  is  likely  (cp.  i  Ch.  i^^  Gn.  3627),  the 
Bene-ja'akan  were  a  Horite  tribe,  the  place  named  after  them 
probably  lay  in,  or  on  the  confines  of,  Edom  (Gn.  362°^-). — 
36.  'Esion-geher  (Dt.  28,  i  K.  920  22*9,  2  Ch.  8^^  ^o^^^)  must 
have  l^in  on  the  Red  Sea,  but,  allowing  for  physical  changes, 
may  be  identical  with  the  modern  'Ain  el-Gudyan,  which  lies 
about  15  miles  N.  of  the  Gulf  of  'Akabah.* — The  "wilderness  of 
Siii\  is  mentioned  frequently,  but  only  in  P  (132120^27^*34^, 
Dt.  32^1,  Jos.  15I).  It  lay  N.  of  the  wilderness  of  Paran  (see 
on  1321).  Before  the  words  the  same  is  Kadesh  (cp.  20^  n.),  G 
inserts.  And  they  journeyed  from  the  "jailderness  of  Sin  and 
ejicamped  in  the  ivilderness  of  Paran.  G  thus  identifies  Kadesh 
and  the  wilderness  of  Paran ;  such  an  identification  is  made 
nowhere  else. — 37  f.  =  2o'^'^^-. — 38.  The  date  of  Aaron's  death 
(the  ist  day  of  the  5th  month  of  the  40th  year  of  the  Exodus) 
is  not  given  elsewhere ;  but  cp.  20^  (P)  n.  His  age  at  death 
also  is  given  only  here,  but  it  is  a  mere  inference  from  the  date 
and  the  statement  of  Ex.  7^  (P). — 40.  =  21^  (with  slight  verbal 
•  Jlobinson,  Bibl.  Researches,^  250  f.;  Driver,  Deut.  35  f. 


448  NUMBERS 

variations),  a  fragment  of  JE  which  now  stands  immediately 
after  P's  account  of  Aaron's  death. — 41.  Salmo7iah\  with  this 
name  cp.  Salmon,  the  name  of  (probably)  two  different  moun- 
tains ;  Jud.  9*s,  Ps.  68^5.-42.  Punon^  instead  of  this  form  (pIS) 
S  S  G  read  Pinon  (p'D).     The  place  may  be  identical  with  the 
Edomite    Pinon   (Gn.    36^\    i  Ch.    i^-f) ;    Jerome    speaks   of 
Faenon  as  "nunc  viculus  in  deserto,  ubi  asris  metalla  damna- 
torum  suppliciis  effodiuntur  inter  civitatem  Petram  et  Zoaram  " 
[OS.  123^*^^^;  cp.  299^^"^*^);  the  name  may  survive  in  that  of 
a  ruin  (Kal^at  Phenan)  which  was  visited  by  Seetzen  [Reisen^ 
iii.  17).     In  this  case  Pinon  lay  in  the  northern  part  of  Edom. 
This  would  agree  with  the  view  suggested  in  21^°  n.  that  the 
itinerary,   in  common  with  P%  represents  Israel  as  passing 
straight  across  northern  Edom  from  Mt.  Hor  to  the  borders 
of  Moab.— 43-45.  Oboth  and  lyye-hd aharim\  21^^^-  (P).— 45. 
Dibon-gad\  21^32^  notes;  the  present  form,  of  course,  pre- 
supposes the  Gadite  conquest,  or  occupation  of  the  country. 
— 46  f.  ^Almon-diblathaitn]  since   this   comes   between    Dibon 
and  *'  the  Mt.  of  the  'Abarim  before  Nebo,"  it  must  lie  between 
Arnon  and  the  Wady  Hesban,  and  may  well  be  the  same  as 
Beth-diblathaim  (Jer.  4822  f;  inbl  nn  in  Mesha"s  Inscr.  (1.  30)). 
The  exact  site  is  uncertain.     The  first  part  of  the  name  occurs 
by  itself  as  the  name   of  a  place  in  Benjamin,  Jos.   21^^. — 
47.    The  viountatns  of  the  'Ahariin\  27^2  (p), — Neb6\  '32^3  „, 
—48b.  22^  (P).— 49.  Beth-jeshimoth  (Jos.  \2^  13^0,  Ezek.  25^) 
may  be  the  modern  Suweme   (Buhl,    Geog.   p.   265).      Abel- 
shittim  is  not  mentioned  in  P^.     In  25^  (JE)  the  abbreviated 
form   Shittim  is   used ;   it  is  there   mentioned   as   the    place 
where  the   Israelites   abode.      If  Beth-jeshimoth   and    Abel- 
shittim  be  correctly  identified  with  Suweme  and  Kefren  (25^  n.) 
respectively,  they  lay  about  5  miles  apart,  and  both  of  them  a 
few  miles  from  the  river. 

7.  3y;i]  rather  ae';!;  so  S. — ^UD  '32'?  i:n'i]  except  here  and  in  v."  (cp. 
v.'*^')  i:n'i  is  always  followed  by  the  name  of  the  next  starting--point : 
Paterson,  therefore,  suspects  some  corruption  here  ;  see  his  note  in^^OT". 
— 9.  CB'  wn'i]  The  compiler  has  abandoned  his  usual  formula  (see  last  n.) 
in  favour  of  direct  citation  from  Ex.  i5'^'. 


XXXIII.  4I-50  449 

XXXIII.  50-XXXVI. —  Various  Laws  relating  to  the  Conquest 
and  Settlement  of  Canaan. 

(i)  Destruction  of  the  idolatrous  objects  of  the  Canaanites 
and  the  distribution  of  Canaan  by  lot,  33^""^^ ;  (2)  the  bound- 
aries of  Canaan,  34^"^^ ;  (3)  the  names  of  the  tribal  princes 
who  with  Ele'azar  and  Joshua  are  to  superintend  the  allot- 
ment of  Canaan,  34^^"^^  ;  (4)  Levitical  cities,  35^"^  ;  (5)  cities 
of  refuge,  v.^^* ;  (6)  heiresses  required  to  marry  within  their 
own  clan,  c.  36. 

All  these  laws  except  the  last,  which  is  an  appendix  to 
oyi-ii  ^pj^  and  is  placed  in  its  present  position  for  no  very 
obvious  reason,  are  introduced  by  P's  usual  formula,  and  are, 
both  in  style  and  in  other  respects,  clearly  connected  with  P  ; 
the  scene  of  the  communication  of  the  laws  as  given  in  33^*'  35^ 
36^3  is  that  of  22I  (P^) ;  with  34I6-29  cp.  i^-is  134-15  (p)^  and  see, 
further,  the  notes  that  follow.  The  laws  are  much  less  miscel- 
laneous in  character  than  those  of  c.  5  f .  and  15,  and  far  more 
related  to  the  implied  circumstances  than  those  of  c.  5  f.,  or  of 
c.  15,  or  of  c.  19;  as  concerned  with  the  occupation  of  the 
country  W.  of  Jordan,  they  stand  very  naturally  after  the  con- 
quest of  the  country  E.  of  the  Jordan,  but  before  the  people 
actually  cross  the  river  (cp.  Jos.  i).  At  the  same  time  none  of 
the  laws  seem  essential  to  P*^'s  scheme,  and  they  may  all  be, 
as  some  of  them  certainly  seem  to  be,  the  work  of  P*  rather 
than  PS. 

Though  differently  described,  the  scene  and  circumstances 
of  these  laws  are  practically  the  same  as  of  the  laws  of  Dt. 
(cp.  Dt.  i^) :  the  subjects  also  of  two  of  them  are  the  same, 
though  the  treatment  in  one  case  Is  very  different.  With 
2^9-31  Qp^  Y)t.  19^"^^  (cities  of  refuge),  and  with  33^*^^^  cp.  Dt. 
la^^'  (destruction  of  idolatrous  objects). 

XXXIII.  50-56.  Yahweh  commands  the  Israelites  to  destroy 
all  idolatrous  objects  in  the  country  which  they  occupy  W.  of 
Jordan,  and  to  divide  the  land  among  themselves  by  lot. 

The  two  subjects  here  combined  are  expressed  in  different  styles  :  v." 
(the  allotment  of  the  land),  like  the  introductory  formulae  v.**-  "»,  is  in  the 
style  of  P  ;  v.'^*  **'•  (the  destruction  of  idolatrous  objects)  recalls  H  and 


450  NUMBERS 

D.  Note  especially  n33  and  n'rrs  (v.'-),  which  occur  nowhere  else  in  the 
Pent,  except  in  Lev.  26^'**(H);  see,  further,  the  notes  that  follow.  The 
combination  of  the  two  Laws  is  best  attributed  to  an  editor  {P=).  V."**  points 
forward  to  c.  34. 

50,  51a.  Cp.  5^^'  ^^  (P) :  see  note  there  and  also  phil.  n.  on 
5^. — In  the  plains  of  Moab,  etc.]  22^  n.  26^  35^  (P). — 51b.  Cp. 
35^",  Dt.  11^^;  see  also  15^  n.  and  phil.  n.  below. — 52.  Having- 
crossed  Jordan  and  entered  Canaan,  the  Israelites  are  to  drive 
out  the  inhabitants  and  to  destroy  the  remnants  of  their 
religion:  cp.  Ex.  2324-31-33  3411-16  qe),  Dt.  f-^  122^-  Such 
commands  are  not  found  elsewhere  in  P. — Ye  shall  dispossess^ 
this  use  of  B'''~iin  is  characteristic  of  D,  but  is  not  found  in  P^ ; 
see  3221  n. — Ye  shall  cause  to  perish^  the  Piel  of  inx,  which  is 
found  twice  in  this  v.,  occurs  elsewhere  in  the  Hex.  only  in 
Dt.  II*  122. — Their figiire{d  stone)s\  i.e.  stones  with  idolatrous 
symbols  carved  or  otherwise  represented  on  them.  This  mean- 
ing of  nVDr^O  is  probable,  though  not  absolutely  certain  (see 
phil.  n.).  The  only  other  passage  which  refers  to  such  objects 
is  Lev.  26^ ;  those  mentioned  there  are  certainly  of  stone  (p5< 
n''3CD). —  Their  violten  iniages\  the  image  (D?V)  was  probably  of 
the  same  figure  as  the  god  was  conceived  to  possess  ;  for  D?V 
is  used  of  the  cast  figures  of  mice  (i  S.  6^-  ^^)  and  graven 
figures  of  men  (Ezek.  23^*) ;  also  in  the  phrase  "  images  of 
males"  (Ezek.  16^^).  The  present  phrase  is  the  equivalent  of 
"molten  gods,"  which  is  used  in  the  similar  prohibitions  of 
Ex.  34^^  (JE),  Lev.  19*  (H).  Moore  {EBi.  2148)  points  out 
that  the  molten  image  is  the  only  kind  prohibited  in  the  oldest 
legislation  (Ex.  34^^) ;  and  considers  it  probable  that  both 
name  and  thing  were  borrowed  from  the  Canaanites. — And 
demolish  all  their  bavioth\  cp.  Lev.  263^  (H),  "And  I  (Yahweh) 
will  demolish  all  your  high  places."  This  is  the  only  other 
passage  in  the  Hex.  in  which  the  term  bamdh,  commonly 
rendered  high  place,  is  used  with  a  religious  reference.  The 
term  appears  to  be  derived  from  an  otherwise  unknown  root 
bum.  In  certain  poetical  passages  in  the  OT.  it  is  used  of 
heights,  whether  of  the  land  (hills)  or  of  the  sea  (waves) ;  see, 
e.g.,  2i28,  Is.  58^*,  Dt.  32^3^  Job  9^,  and  cp.  the  Assyr.  hi/r  re 
ii  ha-ma-a-tc  sa  L,  Sadi-i  =  the  ravines  and  heights  of  the  monn- 


XXXIII.  50-54  451 

tains  (Delitzsch,  Handwoyiei-buch,  1775).  Far  more  commonly 
in  the  OT.  the  bdfiiah  is  a  place  of  worship  (cp.  especially  the 
parallelism  with  mikdash  in  Am.  7^,  Is.  16^^) ;  It  is  similarly 
used  in  the  Inscription  of  Mesha'  (1.  3).  In  certain  early 
passag^es  the  bdmah  is  represented  as  an  altogether  suitable 
place  for  the  worship  of  Yahweh,  and  as  consistingf  of,  or 
situated  on,  a  height ;  it  is  necessary  to  ascend  to  the  hdmCih 
of  Ramah,  though  the  city  itself  lay  on  a  hill :  i  S.  9^^*25  .  j^ 
Mic.  3^^  hill  (^^)  and  hdmoth  are  virtually  equivalents.  Later, 
the  term  underwent  modifications:  (i)  it  came  to  connote  a 
place  of  worship  that  was  illegitimate  either  as  offered  to  other 
deities  than  Yahweh  (i  K.  11'',  2  K.  23^,  Jer.  19^),  or  as 
offered  outside  Jerusalem  (i  K.  14^^  15^^  and  often) ;  (2)  it 
implied  something-  artificial :  the  hdniah  needed  to  be  built  (nja), 
and  could  be  pulled  down  (JTiJ)  or  removed  (ilD) ;  see  refer- 
ences under  (i)  and  (3) ;  and  (3)  it  lost  any  necessary  connec- 
tion with  actual  hill-tops  ;  places  of  worship  in  valleys  could 
be  called  hdmoth  (Jer.  7^^) ;  bdnioth  were  situated  in  the  gates 
of  Jerusalem  (2  K.  23^).  Whether  these  bdnioth  of  later  times 
consisted,  as  many  have  suggested,  of  artificial  mounds  is 
uncertain.  Probably  we  should  understand  the  w;ord  in  this 
passage  in  the  later  sense,  and  the  command  as  a  command  to 
destroy  all  the  sanctuaries  of  the  Canaanites ;  otherwise  to 
demolish  the  high  places  must  mean  to  destroy  the  appurte- 
nances of  Canaanite  worship  at  these  spots,  such  as  the  altars 
(Hos.  10^)  and,  in  some  cases,  sacred  trees  (i  S.  22^)  and 
feasting-  halls  (i  S.  9^^)  and  the  like.* — 53b.  Cp.  Lev.  20-^ 
25'^6  (H),  Gn.  157  (JE) ;  further,  with  to  possess  it  (nnx  ncn^)  cp. 
the  constantly  recurring  HPi^n^  of  D  {e.g.  Dt.  3^8;  CH.  88), 
and  ct.  P's  phrase  ninx^  (32^  n.). — 54.  And  ye  shall  possess 
yourselves  of]  32^^  phil.  n.  The  clause  might  equally  well  follow 
immediately  on  v.^^ :  then  render  then  ye  shall,  etc. — By  lot] 
26^''. — To  that  "which  is  large ^  etc.]  26^*. —  Wliithersoevet  the 
lot  falleth  for  any  family,  it  shall  have  {its  possessio7i)\  it  is 
impossible  to  render  the  Hebrew  both  literally  and  intelligibly; 
but  the  aiiy  manoi  RV.  is  rather  misleading.  17  here  rendered 
any  family  refers  back  to  M"rh  and  3~i?  into  which  DD'TIPIEC'C^ 
•  See  more  fully  Moore's  art.  "  High  Place  "  in  EBi. 


452  NUMBERS 

{your  families)  is  grammatically  divided. — 55  f.  If  not  driven 
out  of  the  land,  the  Canaanites  will  in  future  distress  the 
Israelites,  and  ultimately  Yahweh  will  treat  the  Israelites  as 
He  had  intended  to  treat  the  Canaanites,  i.e.  He  will  remove 
them  from  their  country ;  the  writer  has  the  Exile  in  view. — 
Pricks  in  your  eyes  and  thorns  (?)  in  your  sides\  similar  figures 
are  used  in  Jos.  23^^,  Ezek.  28^*,  and  perhaps  in  the  original 
text  of  Jud.  2^.  Elsewhere  it  is  frequently  represented  that 
the  Canaanites  left  in  the  land  will  be  a  snare:  see  Ex.  23^^, 
34iiff-,  Dt.  7I6. 

51.  on:!!?  nnx  'd]  the  part,  after  '3  {  =  when)  is  unusual  (BDB.  473a):  it 
occurs  twice  elsewhere  in  this  last  section  of  Nu.  (34^  35^°) ;  see  also  Dt. 
11^^  18^.^ — 52.  Dfi'DCD]  that  the  objects  so  termed  were  connected  with  the 
native  cults  is  clear  from  the  context  here  and  in  Lev.  26'  where  noB'a  jnN 
is  a  fourth  term  following  nasD,  '703,  and  D''?''7N.  kud  in  Aram,  means  to 
look  out  ( —  nss  ;  so  nxipp  =  n^ii),  look  for,  expect ;  in  Heb.  the  root  appears 
only  in  nos:'  and  n'^t^D  ;  these  may  perhaps  mean  an  object  to  look  at,  a  re- 
presentation of  something  drawn  or  in  relief;  but  it  cannot  be  said  that 
the  precise  sense  of  either  term  is  established.  The  men  nv2i/  of  Is.  2^^,  the 
^03  nv^E'ca  am  'nisn  (?  silver  carving)  of  Pr.  25",  the  rrDCD  mn  (?  chambers  of 
imagery)  of  Ezek.  8^^  are  all  uncertain.  In  Ps.  73',  Pr.  18'*,  noro  is  used 
metaphorically.  The  Versions  do  not  recognise  the  meaning  figured 
.stones  cither  here  or  in  Lev.;  ffir  has  Xidoa-Kowos  or  Xldos  (xkottos  in  Lev. 
and  here  crKoiriaL ;  %  and  5i  give  nocD  the  sense  of  cult,  worship  (htjd, 
"jZ-j-w^-IC). — 53.  pN.T  '?2  nu  Dncnim]  before  yti^n  fflr  inserts  '3B",  thus  assimi- 
lating the  present  phrase  to  that  found  in  v."^-  ^  and  restoring  the  normal 
construction  of  cmn  ( =  to  dispossess)  with  a  personal  obj.  If  f^  is  correct, 
the  Hiphil  is  here  used  with  the  sense  of  the  Kal,  to  acquire  possession  of; 
cp.  14^^,  Jos.  8''  17^^,  Jud.  1^^  (i^Tl)  ;  Jos.  8^  seems  conclusive  proof  that  the 
Hiphil  had  this  sense ;  for  the  context  there  does  not  allow  of  rendering 
dispossess  the  city  (viz.  of  its  inhabitants).  But  see  BDB. — 55.  C3'3'j;3  D'^t''? 
CDni-3  D'j'j^i'ji]   the  variant  of  this  phrase  in  Jos.  23'^  seems  less  correct. 

On  Jud.  2*  see  Moore.     D'Si?'  occurs  here  only  ;  but  the  meaning  of  some- 

o 

thing  sharp,  ov  pointed,  is  well  secured  by  t^-;    a  sharp  weapon  ;    (AllJCD 

a  nail;  Assyr.  Sikkatu,  a  point ;  cp.  also  the  Heb.  nf>^  (Job 40'^)  and  naie't? 
a  thorn  hedge  (Is.  5^).  A  similar  sense  for  D'J'js  (here  and  Jos.  23^^  only)  is 
less  certain  ;  the  best  support  for  it  is  niJS  (Am.  4"^),  which  may  mean  the 
hook  or  barb  (of  a  fishing  spear).  Another  similar  word  D':s,  commonly 
rendered  thorns,  occurs  in  two  passages  only  (Job  5*,  Pr.  22'),  both  of 
which  may  be  corrupt. — 56.  'iTCT  the  vb.  na^  occurs  nowhere  else  in 
the  Pent. 

XXXIV.  1-15.  The  boundaries  of  the  land  to  be  occupied  by 
the   nine-and-a-half  tribes. — The  boundaries  here  given  are 


XXXIII.  S5-XXXIV.  3.  453 

certainly  to  some  extent  ideal ;  the  country  included  within 
them  was  never  in  its  entirety  in  the  actual  occupation  of  the 
Hebrews.  This  is  clearest  and  indisputable  in  the  case  of  the 
western  boundary  (v.^).  The  western  boundary  of  the  Hebrews 
always  lay  some  distance  back  from  the  coast ;  not  a  single 
spot  on  the  coast  was  ever  in  Hebrew  occupation  till,  in  the 
second  half  of  the  2nd  cent.  B.C.,  Simon  captured  Joppa 
(i  Mac.  14^).  It  is  possible  that  the  northern  and  eastern 
boundaries  here  described  also  presuppose  a  much  larger 
extent  of  territory  than  the  largest  ever  held  by  the  Hebrews. 
The  southern  border  corresponds  more  closely  to  what  in- 
cidental references  to  places  belonging  to  Judah  would 
suggest. 

The  certain  existence  of  an  ideal  element  in  the  present 
description  renders  it  peculiarly  difficult  to  determine  what 
lines  are  intended  by  the  present  description  of  the  northern 
and  (north-)  eastern  boundaries.  For  it  is  precarious  to  allow 
the  identifications  of  the  places  concerned  to  be  determined 
by  the  consideration  that  they  must  not  lie  beyond,  or  at  all 
events  remote  from,  the  line  that  may  be  established  by  taking 
account  of  incidental  allusions  to  the  furthest  points  actually 
held  by  the  Hebrews.  Yet  apart  from  such  a  controlling  con- 
sideration, it  is  impossible  to  identify  the  sites  even  approxi- 
mately with  any  certainty.  Some  of  the  places  in  question  are 
mentioned  only  here  and  in  the  parallel  description  in  Ezek. ; 
and  with  the  exception  of  the  **  Entrance  of  Hamath,"  none  of 
them  are  mentioned  with  any  frequency,  or  in  such  a  way  as 
to  give  even  much  clue  to  the  site. 

The  boundaries  here  given  for  the  nine-and-a-half  tribes 
are  substantially,  if  not  precisely,  the  same  as  those  which 
Ezekiel  gives  for  the  land  which  is  to  be  occupied  by  the  twelve 
tribes  after  the  restoration  from  Exile  (Ezek.  47^^"^'^).  The 
variations  in  the  two  descriptions  are  certainly  in  part  due  to 
textual  corruption.  Here,  as  in  other  things,  what  Ezekiel 
embodies  in  his  description  of  the  ideal  future,  P  embodies  in 
his  account  of  the  idealised  past;  cp.  above,  pp.  18,  24. 

3-5.  The  southern  boundary  is  indicated  summarily  in  v.^", 
and  then  by  a  series  of  points  in  v.^*^"^.      This  boundary  is 


454 


NUMBERS 


defined  twice  elsewhere  (Jos.  15^"*,  Ezek.  47^^),  for  the  southern 
boundary  of  Judah  (Jos.)  is  also  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
whole  country.  The  points  given  in  the  three  passages  are  as 
follow  :— 


Nu. 

Dead  Sea  (S.E.). 

Ascent  of 'Akrabbim. 
Sin. 

Kadesh-barnea'. 
Hasar-addar. 


'Asmon. 
Wady  Misraim. 
The  sea. 


Jos. 
Dead  Sea  (S.E.). 

Ascent  of  Akrabbim. 

Sin. 

Kadesh-barnea' . 

Hesron, 

Addar. 

Karka'. 

'Asmon. 

Wady  Misraim 

The  sea. 


Ez*V. 

Tamar  =  (Dead    Sea 
(S.E.)). 

Meriboth-kadesh. 


(the)  Wady  (Misraim). 
The  great  sea. 


The  eastern  and  western  extremities  of  this  boundary  are 
known  points  ;  the  western  extremity,  the  outflow  of  the  Wady 
Misraim  (mod.  Wady  el-'Arlsh),  is  at  a  point  on  the  coast  of 
the  Mediterranean  about  half-way  between  Gaza  and  Pelusium. 
Considerably  south  of  a  straight  line  between  these  two  ex- 
tremities lies  the  third  known  point,  Kadesh  (13^^  n.).  Be'er- 
sheba',  which  is  frequently  mentioned  *  as  the  southern  limit 
of  the  land  of  Israel,  and  which  is  situated  on  the  verge  of  the 
wilderness,  or  Negeb,  which  also  sometimes  ranks  as  the 
southern  boundary  (Dt.  ii^^  Jos.  i^;  cp.  Nu.  13^^),  lies  a  very 
few  miles  north  of  the  same  straight  line.  The  most  natural 
boundary  t  in  this  region  consists  of  the  Wadys  el-Fikreh, 
Marra,  el-Abyad,  and  el-'Arish,  which  together  form  an  almost 
straight  line  from  the  S.  end  of  the  Dead  Sea  to  the  outflow 
of  the  Wady  el-'Arish.  The  exact  course  of  the  boundary  line 
from  Kadesh  to  the  coast  is  quite  uncertain ;  for  Hasar-addar 
(Hesron,  Addar,  and  Karka')  and  'Asmon  and  the  point  at 
which  the  junction  with  the  Wady  el-'Arlsh  was  reached  are 
unknown.     From   the  Dead  Sea  the  line  indicated  probably 

•  Jud.  2o^  I  S.  <f>,  2  S.  31"  17"  242- ",  1  K.  42a,  2  K.  238,  2  Ch.  iq\ 
Neh.  u^O;  cp.  Am.  8";  see  H.  W,  Hogg,  "Dan  to  Beersheba"  {Exp.^ 
(1898)  viii.  411-421. 

t  Buhl,  Geog.  p.  II. 


XXXIV.  3  455 

ran  at  first  S.W.  through  the  Wady  el-Fikreh,  which  is  a 
natural  boundary,  and  then,  turning  round  the  Jebel  Madurah 
(20^^  n.),  much  more  directly  south  to  Kadesh.  The  ascent  of 
'Akrabbim  may  be  sought  in  one  of  the  passes  on  the  N.  side 
of  the  Wady  el-Fikreh,  and  perhaps  in  particular  in  the  Nakb 
el- Yemen,  which  starts  just  opposite  the  Jebel  Madurah,  or  in 
the  Nakb  esSafd. 

The  northern  side  of  the  Wady  el-Fikreh  is  a  "  bare  and  bald  rampart  of 
rock  "  about  1000  ft.  high,  precipitous  in  character,  and  without  vegetation. 
"  To  one  looking  from  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  the  open  mouth 
of  the  Wady  Feqreh  shows  itself  prominently.  ...  A  southern  boundary 
line  ...  would  therefore  properly  be  supposed  to  enter  this  great  dividing 
wady."  "  It  is  just  southward  of  that  Pass  el- Yemen  that  a  turn  would 
naturally  be  made  in  a  boundary  line  that  had  followed  the  border  of  Edom 
and  was  to  hinge  for  a  yet  more  southerly  stretch  in  its  onward  sweep  ; 
for  standing  out  all  by  itself  in  the  wady  which  is  being  followed  as  the 
boundary  line,  or  rather  at  the  confluence  of  two  other  wadies  with  that 
one,  there  is  a  notable  mountain,  Jebel  Madurah,  around  the  north-western 
side  of  which  the  boundary  line  would  turn  to  move  on  to  its  southernmost 
point"  {Clay  Trumhull,  Kadesh-Bamea,  no,  113).  Older  discussions  of 
the  southern  boundary  are  mostly  vitiated  by  starting  from  Robinson's 
erroneous  identification  of  Kadesh  with  'Ain-el-Weibeh.  Of  recent  discus- 
sions, see  especially  Clay  Trumbull,  Kadesh-Barnea,  106-124  (the  philo- 
logical suggestions  and  arguments  are  often  untrustworthy) ;  also  Buhl, 
Cesch.  der  Edomiter,  23-26  (cp.  16  f.);  G.  A.  Smith,  Hist,  Geog.  278-2S6. 

8.  Yotir southern side\  RV.  renders  flKS  here  by  "quarter " ; 
but  where  ^^^D  is  defined  by  a  point  of  the  compass,  it  is  used 
of  a  line  rather  than  a  space :  so  quite  clearly  in  35^,  Ezek. 
^316. 18.  32ff. .  cp.  Ezek.  47^'^^'. — From  the  wilderness  of  Sin  along 
the  side{s)  of  Edoin\  In  Jos.  15^  Judah's  territory  is  described  as 
extending  "unto  the  border  of  Edom,  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin 
southwards  "  (n333  ;x  iniD  DIN  ^133  W).  This  implies  that  Edom 
formed  part  of  Israel's  southern  border  W.  of  Jordan  (20^^  n.). 
So  here  along  the  side{s)  of  Edom  is  best  taken  as  describing 
the  eastern  end  of  the  southern  line.  The  prepositional 
phrase  n""  ^V  does  not  necessarily  mean  "along  the  side^  of"  : 
for  in  Jud.  ii^^  it  must  refer  to  one,  viz.  the  northern,  side 
of  Arnon  only :  cp.  also  i  Ch.  6^^.  —  For  the  wilderness  of 
Sin  as  a  boundary,  cp.  13^^  (P). —  Your  southern  boundary 
shall  bCf  or  extend,  from  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Salt 
Sea  on  the  east\  Jos.  15-  states  it  more  precisely  "from  the 


456  NUMBERS 

extremity  of  the  Salt  Sea,  from  the  bay  that  turneth  (or 
bendeth)  south."  The  Salt  Sea  is  the  commonest  designation 
of  the  Dead  Sea  in  OT.;  for  others,  see  Dt.  3^^^,  Ezek.  47^^. — 
4.  And  your  boundary  line  shall  take  a  tnm  south  of  the  pass  of 
'Akrabbwt\  the  pass  of 'Akrabbim  (Scorpions)  is  probably  one 
of  those  leading  N.W.  out  of  the  Wady  el-Fikreh  (see  above). 
— Sin^  is  also  mentioned  in  Jos.  15'.  The  site  is  unknown; 
but  the  place  gave  its  name  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin  (13-^  n.). 
— And  its  extremity  in  this  direction  shall  be  south  of  Kadesh- 
bamed\  on  the  form  Kadesh-barnea',  see  32^  n. — And  it  shall 
make  a  [fresh]  start  to  Hasar-addar  and  continue  to  'Asmon  : 
and  at  'Asmon  the  boundary  line  shall  turn  to  the  Wady  Misrainiy 
and  its  (western)  extremity  shall  be  at  the  (Mediterranean) 
sea\  Turning  N.W.  at  Kadesh  the  boundary  strikes  the  north- 
westerly running  Wady  el-'Arish  at  this  unidentified  'Asmon 
and  follows  its  course  to  the  Mediterranean.  With  this  Jos. 
152'-  is  in  general  agreement,  but  it  places  the  turning-point 
(3D3l)  between  Addar  and  Karka',  which  is  not  mentioned  here. 
Instead  of  Hasar-addar,  Jos.  gives  two  distinct  places,  Hesron 
and  Addar.  Neither  this  Hesron,  nor  Addar,  nor  Hasar-addar 
is  mentioned  again,  and  the  sites  are  quite  unknown.  On 
names  of  the  same  type  as  Hasar,  Hesron,  see  11^^  n. 
Whether  a  single  name  (Hasar-addar)  has  in  the  course  of 
textual  transcription  become  two  (Hesron,  Addar),  or  two 
names  one,  is  uncertain.  Addar  (cp.  i  Ch.  8^  =  Ard,  Nu  26*^) 
looks  like  a  tribal  name ;  but  even  so,  it  may  have  stood  by 
itself  as  the  name  of  a  place  (33^^  n.).  Hesron  is  related 
philologically  to  Hasar  in  the  same  way  that  'Asmon  is  to 
'Esem,  the  name  of  a  town  sometimes  assigned  to  Simeon, 
sometimes  to  Judah  (Jos.  15^^  19^) ;  but  the  philological  con- 
nection does  not,  of  course,  prove  geographical  identity.  Clay 
Trumbull  [Kadesh-Bar7iea,  117,  289  ff.)  identifies 'Asmon  with 
Kasaymeh  ;  this  receives  a  precarious  support  from  the  fact 
that  the  later  Targnms  (2E-'"^°")  give  DDp  or  QD^p  for  'Asmon. 
— The  Wady  of  Misr{d)im  (onvro  ^m :  RV.  "the  Brook  of 
Egypt ")  is  frequently  mentioned  as  a  boundary  line,  and 
generally  as  the  southern  boundary  of  the  land  of  Israel  (Jos. 
15*- "7,  I  K.  8«5,  2  K.  247,  2  Ch.  78,  Is.  27121 ;  and  originally, 


XXXIV.  4-«  457 

It  may  be,  in  Am.  6^*).  The  identification  of  the  Wady  of 
Misraim  with  the  Wady  el-'Arish  is  now  generally  accepted.* 
The  Wady  el-'Arish  runs  N.  and  N.  W.  from  the  middle  of  the 
Sinaitic  peninsula  and  flows  into  the  Mediterranean  at  a  point 
on  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  about  half-way  between 
Pelusium  and  Gaza,  where  t^e  ancient  Rhinocolura  (cp.  Is.  27^^ 
ffi)  stood.  It  is  a  long  and  deep  watercourse,  but  is  only  full 
after  heavy  rain.  It  has  been  commonly  supposed  that  the 
wady  was  called  the  Wady  of  Egypt  (Misraim)  because  it 
separated  Canaan  from  Egypt.  Recently  another  suggestion 
has  been  made:  it  has  been  argued t  that  Musur  in  the 
Assyrian  inscriptions  and  Misr(a)im  in  the  OT.  are  frequently 
the  name  of  a  north  Arabian  district  including  the  country 
through  which  the  Wady  of  Misraim  flowed;  and  that  the 
wady  derived  its  name  from  this  country.  If  the  identification 
of  Musur  with  the  north  Arabian  country  were  established, 
this  would  be  the  most  probable  explanation  of  the  name  of  the 
wady. 

2.  JV«  pKn]  Driver,  Tenses,  §  190. — 4.  V  3J3D]  on  the  south  of',  BDB. 
s.v.  p  I.  c  (p.  5785). — ms]  Lagarde  (Bildung  d.  Nomina,  46 f.)  proposed 
jsn. — vnNnn  n'ni]  K're  'n  vni.  The  same  variant  occurs  in  Jos.  15''  i8^^-  "•  ^^. 
The  cstr.  of  the  K'tib  can  be  explained  by  G.-K.  1450.  But  the  sing",  vb. 
in  these  cases  may  be  a  survival  of  an  original  text  in  which  the  noun  also 
was  sing. ;  S  reads  all  through  this  c.  (i)nN!nn  n'm.  Since  the  noun  means 
"  the  point  at  wliich  a  boundary  terminates,"  the  use  of  the  plural  would 
be  very  hard  to  explain  ;  see  Joum.  ofTheoJ.  Studies,  iv.  124  f. — 5.  At  the 
end  of  the  v.  3Ja  SiDJ  uzh  n'.T  fiT  appears  to  have  dropped  out ;  cp.  v.*'  ^'  ^^ 
iind  aliio  Jos.  15^. 

f^.  The  western  boundary  is  to  be  the  Mediterranean ;  cp. 
J'>s.  15^^,  Ezek.  47-*^.  This  never  was  the  actual  boundar}'  of 
the  land  of  Israel ;  see  above,  p.  453. — The  Great  Sea  is  one 

*  Palmer,  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  286  f.;  Buhl,  Geog.  66  ;  Di.;  EBi.  1249  ; 
Hastings'  DB.  s.v.  "  Egypt,  River  of" 

T  Winckler,  Altortentaltsche  Forschungen  (1893),  i.  24-41  (especially  p. 
26),  and  Musri,  Meluhha,  and  Main,  i.  ii.  (1898)  ;  Hommel,  Vier  neue 
arabische  Landschaftsnavien,  296  f.,  303  ff.;  EBi.  "Egypt,  River  of,"  §  2, 
cp.  "  Mizraim,"  §  25.  In  criticism  of  Musur=north  Arabia,  see  Budge, 
Historv  of  Egypt,  vi.  pp.  vii-xxx  ;  Konig,  Fiinf  neue  arabische  Land- 
schafisna7nen,  19 ff.  (especially  on  the  Wady  of  Mi§raim,  p.  2if);  in 
counter-criticism,  H.  W.  Hogg  in  EBi.  "  Simeon,"  §  6  n. 


45S  NUMBERS 

of  the  names  for  the  Mediterranean  (cp.  Jos.  15*''',  Ezek.  48^^), 
but  it  is  more  frequently  called  simply  '*  the  sea  "  {e.£^.  13^^). 

713J1  W]  the  use  of  \  (apparently  =  «/5(7,  at  the  same  time)  is  peculiar,  but 
occurs  several  times  in  similar  contexts;  see,  e.g.,  Dt.  3^^,  Jos.  13^,  and 
BDB.  s.v,  \  I.  c.  Haupt  (in  SBOT.)  proposes  to  read  here  and  in  similar 
cases  i'?nji  and  the  district  thereof;  Kon.  (iii.  p.  283  n.  1)  argues  that  the 
force  of  the  art.  in  "jiun  d'.t  is  carried  over  to  h^2i,  and  the  (^adjacent) 
district ;  but  this  is  really  contrary  to  analogy. 

7-9.  The  northern  boundary  is  to  extend  from  a  site  on  the 
Mediterranean  that  cannot  be  identified  to  Hasar-'enan  on  the 
border  of  the  territory  of  Damascus  (Ezek.  47^^  48^).  Hasar- 
'enan  may  have  stood  on  the  site  of  the  modern  Banias ;  but 
the  exact  position  is  uncertain,  though  it  evidently  (v.^°'-)  lay 
well  to  the  N.  or  N.E.  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 

In  Ezek.  47^^-17  ^^p^  ^31^  ^j^g  description  of  the  future 
northern  boundary  begins  as  here  with  the  words  **  from  the 
great  sea,"  and  contains,  in  common  with  the  present  descrip- 
tion, the  intermediate  point  Sedad  and  the  eastern  extremity 
Hasar-'enan  (or  -'enon).  In  both  passages,  but  especially  in 
Ezek.,  the  text  has  suffered  corruption;  still  it  is  clear  that 
both  must  have  described  the  same,  or  almost  the  same, 
boundary  line.  But  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  determine  what 
that  line  was ;  for,  with  the  exception  of  the  Entrance  of 
Hamath,  mentioned  here  and,  probably,  in  the  original  text  of 
Ezek.,*  none  of  the  places  are  mentioned  except  in  one  or 
both  of  these  passages ;  and  none,  not  even  the  Entrance  of 
Hamath,  can  be  fixed  with  certainty.  The  main  point  at 
issue  between  those  who  have  discussed  the  question  of  this 
boundary  line  is  whether  it  ran  south  of,  and  so  excluded,  the 
Lebanon,  or  whether  it  included  at  least  a  large  part  of  it ; 
if  the  southern  site  suggested  for  the  Entrance  of  Hamath 
(13-^  n.)  be  adopted,  the  boundary  excluded,  if  the  northern  site 
be  adopted,  it  included,  this  region.  The  actual  boundaries 
certainly  did  not  include  the  Lebanon ;  for  Dan,  the  pro- 
verbial northern  town,  lay  south  of  the  mountains  (cp.  also 
I  K.  52^  ^^)) ;  but  this  does  not  determine  the  ideal  boundary. 

*  In  Ezek.  47^"*  for  nan  rm:j  n3^  read  mns  nnn  N3^  ;  see  Bertholet  on  the 
passagfe,  and  Toy  (in  SBOT.) ;  Corn,  omits  mis  as  a  gloss  from  Nu, 


XXXIV.  7-9  459 

Furrcr  {Zeitschr.  d.  deutsc7ie7i  Pal'dstina-  Verelns,  viii.  27-29)  has  argued 
for  the  northern  line.  According  to  him  the  boundary  almost  immediately 
after  leaving  the  Mediterranean  passed  Hethlon  (mod.  Heitela),  distant 
nearly  two  hours  from  the  coast,  and  situated  between  the  Nahr  el-Kebir 
and  the  Nahr'Akkar.  From  Hethlon  the  boundary  passed  to  Mt.  Hor, 
"  obviously  the  northern  spur  of  Lebanon,"  and  next  reached  the  plateau 
of  the  Orontes.  Here  it  took  a  N.E.  direction  to  the  Entrance  of  Hamath, 
the  modern  Restan,  the  ancient  Arethusa,  formerly  the  boundary  of  Syria 
Secunda,  later  of  the  principality  of  Antioch,  and  now  the  border  town 
between  the  districts  of  Homs  and  Hamath.  Crossing  the  Orontes  at 
this  point  the  boundary  struck  S.E.  to  Ziphron  (mod.  Safrine),  thence 
S.S.E.  to  Sedad  (mod.  Sadad),  thence  E.N.E.  to  Hauran,  the  Haurina  of 
the  Assyrian  inscriptions  and  the  mod.  HawarJn.  About  10  miles  due  E. 
of  the  last  point  Furrer  places  the  termination  of  the  boundary,  identifying 
Hasar-'enan  with  Karyaten,  the  last  oasis  in  the  Syrian  desert  towards 
Palmyra,  which  is  24  hours  distant. 

Van  Kasteren  {Revue  Biblique,  1895,  23  ff.)  has  attempted  to  trace  a 
more  southern  line.  This  starts  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nahr  el-K4simiyeh 
(about  100  miles  S.  of  Furrer's  starting-point),  a  few  miles  N.  of  Tyre  ; 
Hethlon  is'Adlfln ;  Mt.  Hor,  the  mountain  at  the  sharp  turn  of  the  Nahr 
el-K4simiyeh,  a  few  miles  N.W.  of  Tel  el-Kadi  (?  Dan) ;  the  entrance  of 
Hamath  is  the  Merj'Ayun  ;  Sedad  (S  ffi  Serad)  is  Seridi,  S.  of  Hermon, 
and  close  to  the  Merj  'Ayun  ;  Sibraim  (Ezek.  47'^)  is  Senbariye  ;  and, 
finally,  Hasar-'enan  is  el-Hadr,  E.  of  Banias. 

Buhl  {Geog.  10.  66 f.)  criticises  Furrer,  and,  though  without  accepting 
all  the  particular  identifications,  holds  that  Van  Kasteren's  line  is  approxi- 
mately correct — in  particular  as  to  its  starting-point. 

7  f.  Ye  shall  mark  out  {the  line)  for  yourselves  imto  Ilor  the 
viountain  .  .  .  ye  shall  mark  out  [the  line)  unto  the  Entrattce  of 
Hamath^  on  the  vb.  see  phil.  n.  The  exact  meanhig  is  some- 
what uncertain,  but  the  change  of  cstr.  in  RV.  is  not  correct. 
This  Mount  Hor  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere  ;  for  another,  see 
20^2;  and  for  the  Entrance  of  Hamath,  see  above  and  on  13^^ 
—  The  termination  of  the  boundary  shall  be  at  Seddcf\  like  the 
southern,  the  northern  boundary  is  not  a  straight  line :  it 
makes  an  angle,  or,  as  the  Hebrew  expresses  it,  has  an 
"extremity"  in  the  middle,  and  (v.°)  makes  a  [fresh)  start. — 
Sedad\  S  ffic  Serad ;  for  proposed  identifications  of  this  place 
and  Ziphron  (v.^),  see  above. — 9.  Hasar-  htan\  v.^",  Ezek.  48H 
=  Hasar-'enon  (Ezek.  47^'^  t  P.] ;  ffir  Alvav).  Some*  consider 
that  this  place  is  also  mentioned  under  a  corrupt  form  in  Ezek. 
47^^  (Haser  hat-ticon).  The  name  means  the  enclosure  of  the 
spring',  the  form  'cndn  is  more  Aramaic,  the  form  'cnOii 
*  Smend,  Corn.,  Cheyne  {EBi,). 


460  NUMBERS 

specifically  Hebrew.  Hasar-'enan  is  the  point  at  which  both 
the  northern  and  eastern  boundaries  terminate.  It  is  described 
in  Ezek.  as  "on  the  border  of  Damascus,"  and  is  defined  more 
closely,  according  to  Cornill's  reconstructed  text  of  Ezek.  47^^, 
thus,  "And  the  east  side:  from  Hasar-'enan,  which  lies  on 
the  border  between  Hauran  and  Damascus,  the  Jordan  forms 
the  border  between  Gile'ad  and  the  land  of  Israel."  If  this  be 
accepted,  Hasar-'enan  lay  actually  on,  or  quite  near  to,  the 
Jordan.  In  that  case  Furrer's  identification  with  Karyaten  is 
impossible  ;  and  the  identification  with  Banias,  to  which  some 
scholars  *  incline,  could  not  be  far  wrong  ;  Banias  is  situated 
at  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Jordan — at  a  "spring,"  therefore, 
which  may  have  given  the  place  its  ancient  name. 

7.  nnmn]  20^  n. — ?n^]  so  v.^  :  in  v.^"  Dn'wom.  MT.  thus  distinguishes 
two  verbs — nxn  and  mn.  Most  modem  scholars,  like  (5  (always  /cara- 
Herpriffere),  agree  that  the  verbs  in  the  three  verses  are  from  the  same 
root.  But  (a)  some  (e.g.  Di.)  point  here  and  in  v.^  '^-Sipn,  keeping  v.^"  un- 
changed ;  (5)  some  (e.g.  Paterson,  Ges.-Buhl,  s.v.  niK)  retain  the  punctua- 
tion in  V."',  and  read  Dn'xnni  in  v.^" ;  (c)  Cheyne  {EBi.  2109)  corrects  in 
v.'**  to  'iNn?i  and  in  v.'"  to  cnixni ;  cp.  the  use  of  this  same  vb.  (in  the  Kal)  in 
Jos.  15^'  "  (a  very  similar  context)  and  (in  the  Piel)  in  Is.  44".  As  to  the 
roots  mx  and  nKn,  assumed  in  (a)  and  (5)  respectively  :  niN  regularly  means 
to  desire ;  so  Di.,  somewhat  Rabbinically,  sees  in  the  use  of  the  vb.  an 
indication  that  the  boundaries  are  to  be  ideal,  and  renders,  ye  shall  desire 
for  yourselves.    Others  assume  for  the  vb.  niN  a  unique  sense,  to  mark  out : 

cp.  the  noun  mx,  <5j  I ,  and  see  especially  Fried.  Delitzsch,  Prolegomena, 
ii6f. ;  but  his  argument  is  very  hypothetical,  and  the  sense  mark  out 
there  claimed  for  the  Assyr.  mx  ii.  2,  does  not  appear  to  be  given  in 
his  more  recent  Assyr,  Handworterbuch.  The  root  nxn  might  be  a  by- 
form  of  mn  (Ezek.  9*).  Any  interpretation  of  the  text  as  it  stands  seems 
not  less  hazardous  than  the  supposition  that  it  is  corrupt.  Cheyne's 
entire  restoration  of  v.^'"' ^  is  worth  giving:  -nnn  ij;  dd*?  nNnn  '?nan  D'n  ;d 
ran  xn?  •\]j  nNnn  "jiinsi.  It  is  suggested  by  Hal^vy's  emendation  of  "Ci'^n 
for  the  strange  yvm  in  Ezek.  47'^  and  "in  in  48^  (EBi.  2046).  nnn  nn  and 
rsn  Ka!?  are  best  taken  as  accusatives  of  direction,  but  ny  (with  Cheyne)  or 
Sk  (cp.  Jos.  15")  prefixed  to  the  names  would  have  given  a  more  usual  cstr. 

10-12.    The    eastern  boundary  starts    from   Hasar-'enan 

(v.*  n.),  passes  to  Shepham  (site  unknown),  "  descends  "  to  the 

Riblah  (?)  (site  unknown),  and  then  runs  along  the  (eastern) 

shore  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  the  Jordan,  and  the  Dead  Sea, 

•  Buhl,  Ceog.  67,  240 ;  Cheyne  (EBi.). 


XXXIV.  ic,   II  461 

terminating-  at  the  S.E.  end  of  the  last  (v.'  n.).  The  mention 
of  intermediate  points  between  Hasar-'enan  and  the  Lake  of 
Galilee  shows  that  the  former  was  some  distance  away  from 
(N.  or  N.E.  of)  the  latter.  In  Ezek.  4'j'^^the  eastern  boundary 
is  defined  by  the  Jordan  and  Dead  Sea  only,  and  the  same  line 
is  intended  here,  if  Hasar-'enan  was  situa;ted  at  one  of  the 
sources  of  the  Jordan  {e.^:  Banias  ;  see  above).  On  the  other 
hand,  if  Hasar-'enan  be  placed  with  Furrer  at  Karyaten,  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  eastern  boundary  lay  a  long-  way 
N.E.  of  any  source  of  the  Jordan,  and  consequently  the  northern 
strip  of  the  boundary  was  not  marked  by  the  course  of  the 
river. 

11.  T/ie  Rihlah  (?)]  Riblah  on  the  Orontes,  which  is  always, 
unlike  the  present  name,  written  Avithout  the  article  (n^3"i), 
cannot  be  intended ;  Riblah  on  the  Orontes,  had  it  been  men- 
tioned at  all,  must  have  been  given  as  a  place  on  the  northern 
boundary  after  the  Entrance  of  Hamath.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
the  punctuation  of  MT.  is  more  than  questionable  ;  P^  can 
equally  well  be  read  (cp.  (5)  to  Harhel  (n73"in),  the  final  n  being 
the  n  locale,  used  as  in  v.*-  ^-  ^-  ^-  '^^-  ^^  etc.  The  name  then  means 
**  the  mountain  of  Bel,"*  and  has  been  identified  by  some 
with  Harmel,  at  the  source  of  the  Orontes,  by  others  with 
Arbin  (cp.  Bethel,  mod.  Beitin),  3  or  4  miles  N.E.  of  Damascus. 
Both  places  are,  however,  rather  remote  from  the  Sea  of 
Galilee  which  is  next  mentioned,  and  inconsistent  with  the 
view  of  Ezek.  that  the  Jordan  formed  the  eastern  boundary. — 
On  the  east  o/'Ain]  this  definition  of  the  site  of  the  Riblah  or 
Harbel  is  itself  obscure  ;  for  'Ain  (  =  the  spHng)  cannot  be 
identified.  Cheyne  {EBi.  106)  considers  it  to  be  most  prob- 
ably the  source  of  the  Nahr  Hasbany ;  for  **  from  this  fountain 
to  the  east  shoulder  of  the  Lake  of  Gennesaret  a  straight  line 
of  water  flows,  forming  the  clearest  of  boundaries."  But  if 
this  be  accepted,  the  identification  of  Hasar-'enan  with  Banias, 
which  lies  considerably  S.  of  the  source  of  the  Nahr  Hasbany, 
must  be  given  up.  Another  possibility  is  that  'Ain  is  a  mis- 
pronounced 'lyyon  (I'^)  which  is  mentioned  in   i   K.  1520  and 

*  See  the  letters  of  T.  K.  Cheyne  and  the  present  writer  in  Acad.  o{ 
June  21  and  28,  1896  ;  also  HPN.  123  f.     Cp.  Dr.  in  DB.  "  Riblah,"  2. 


462  NUMBERS 

2  K  15^^,  survives  in  the  modern  Merj  'Ayiin,  and  is  perhaps 
to  be  identified  with  Tel  Dibbin  N.W.  of  Banias  [EBi.  2160). — 
And  it  shall  stretch  along  (?)  by  the  [hills  that)  flank  the  sea  of 
Kinnereth\  the  meaning"  of  the  vb.  is  quite  uncertain,  ^ns 
(RV.,  inadequately,  side)  means  primarily  shoulder;  but  it  is 
used  metaphorically  of  a  line  of  hills  (Jos.  15^-  ^^-  ^^  i8^^^-  ^^-  ^^^•), 
here  in  particular  oi  the  hills  that  rise  from  the  eastern  shore 
of  the  Lake  of  Galilee. — The  sea  of  Kinnereth']  cp.  Jos.  i^"'' ) 
also  Jos.  12^  ("the  sea  of  Kinneroth").  In  Dt.  33^^  the  Lake 
of  Galilee  is  called  briefly  *'the  sea."  The  name  here  given 
to  it  was  more  probably  derived  from  the  ancient  town  of 
Kinnereth  (Jos.  19^,  Dt.  3^^),  which  is  mentioned  in  the  list 
of  places  conquered  by  Thothmes  iii.*  (15th  or  i6th  cent. 
B.C.),  than  from  its  resemblance  in  shape  to  a  harp  or  lyre 
[kinnor). 

13.  Moses  obeys  Yahweh's  command  given  in  v.^'-. — 14  f. 
The  land  of  Canaan,  the  land  of  promise  proper,  the  boundaries 
of  which  have  just  been  described,  is  to  be  divided  among  nine- 
and-a-half  tribes  only,  since  two-and-a-half,  viz.  Gad  and 
Reuben  (c.  32  passim)  and  half-Manasseh  (32^^),  have  already 
received  portions  E.  of  Jordan. — 15.  Across  the  fordan  at 
fe-richo\  "at  Jericho"  is  an  unsuitable  limitation  in  describing 
the  frontier  line  of  two  or  two-and-a-half  tribes  :  the  phrase 
has  perhaps  been  mechanically  written  or  added  under  the 
influence  of  22^  and  other  passages  where  the  limitation  is 
suitably  used.  For  another  instance  of  its  unsuitable  use,  see 
Jos.  20^,  where  (&  omits  it. 

11.  nno]  if  the  text  be  sound,  nno  must  be  used  here  with  a  meaning- 
which  it  possesses  nowhere  else  in  Hebrew.  The  prep,  ^y  and  the  con- 
nection are  both  satisfied  by  the  meanms;  siretckeih  alon^^;  hnt  to  stretch 
along  or  even  to  rub  past  is  not  satisfactorily  derived  from  nna^/o  efface, 
erase.      Some,    therefore,    disconnect    nnD  here   from   nno  to   efface,   and 

assume  that  it  is  =  Aram,  nhd,  a  weakened  form  of  yno  z=  ^_^f^:SX^  =  fnc,  to 
strike,  and  so  metaphorically  (as  we  sometimes  use  strike  of  a  path,  or  a 
traveller)  to  strike  down  upon  (see  BDB.  s.v.  nnn  ii.  and  references  there). — 
±i.  'jmxn.T  '33  and  ■'-\yr\  ':3,  but  na-jo  ;  cp.  4-8  n. — 15.  rimja  n.r:i-\p\  2^  n. 

16-29.  Tahweh  gives  Moses  the  names  of  twelve  persons 
who  are  to  superintend  the  allotment  of  Canaan. — The  persons 

*  W.  Max  Miiller,  Asien  u.  Europa,  84  n.  I. 


XXXIV.  13  463 

are  chosen  on  the  same  principle  which  governed  the  selection 
of  the  persons  who  superintended  the  census  (i^~^^  (P)) ;  but 
since  Aaron  is  now  dead  (20-2-29)  ^^^  Moses  is  to  die  before  the 
entrance  into  Canaan  (27^-"^*  (P))>  Ele'azar  and  Joshua  (cp. 
2^18-23  ^pjj  take  the  place  of  superintendents-in-chief,  corre- 
pondingf  to  the  part  played  by  Moses  and  Aaron  at  the  census. 
Since  only  ten  tribes  are  to  share  in  the  land  W.  of  Jordan 
^y  13-15)^  only  ten  tribal  princes,  as  ag^ainst  twelve  who  were 
employed  at  the  census,  are  to  assist  Ele'azar  and  Joshua,  one 
being-  chosen  from  each  of  the  ten  tribes  concerned. 

Not  one  of  the  twelve  tribal  princes  who  acted  at  the 
census  is  mentioned  here,  nor  any  of  the  twelve  spies  except 
Joshua  and  Caleb.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  theory  of 
1^26-30. 36-38  (p),  wjih  the  cxccption  of  Joshua,  Caleb,  and 
Ele'azar,  none  of  the  persons  mentioned  here  are  mentioned 
anywhere  else,  unless  Elidad  (v.^^)  be  identical  with  Eldad 
(11-^  n.).  Among  the  names  of  these  otherwise  unknown 
persons  are  some  such  as  Ahihud,  Elidad,  which  are  certainly 
ancient ;  but  the  list  as  a  whole  is  hardly  more  ancient  than 
that  of  c.  I,  though  the  evidence  in  the  present  case  is  less 
varied  and  conclusive  :  see  note  on  p.  6f.,  and,  further,  HPN. 
193  ff. 

The  order  in  which  the  tribes  are  here  mentioned  appears 
to  be  governed  by  their  (subsequent)  positions  in  Canaan  ; 
thus  the  four  southern  tribes  come  first  (v.^*-22)^  then  the  two 
central  tribes    (v.^"^-),   and,    finally,  the   four  northern   tribes 

(y^2o-28)^ 

16.  Cp.  1^  n.— 17.  nice  n'?N]  i»  13*  (P);  see,  further,  CH.  188?.— i^n;:] 
cp.  Sh^'?  v.^^  and  Jos.  19^^;  but  in  all  three  passages  the  Piel  may  have 
been  intended ;  cp.  Vn:^  v.^^,  and  see  also  Jos.  13^^^  14I  19^^ — 20.  Vnidb']  a 
well-known  early  name,  ffi  has  2aXa/Ui7;\  =  '7N"DSB';  cp.  i*  n. — iin'Dy]  i^"  n. 
—21.  ht'^n]  S  (Et  S  ti'?n;  ii-^  n. — p'^??]  ffis  gives  both  for  this  and  the 
place-name  p"???,  Xacj-Xw*'.  S  here  reads  ;'703,  which  might,  like  pc^  (v.-*) 
and  jiy  (v.^S),  be  a  noun  in  -nn.— 22.  N'ts'j]  so  v."^'"^;  ct.  v.''*-^! ;  S  (5  =  J§  ;  5 
omits  throughout. — 'ipa]  i  Ch.  5^' ;  cp.  i.Tija  (i  Ch.  25*-  "■!■)  ;  see  HPN.  205 
and  EBi.  s.v.  "  Bakbukiah."  Like  ^^hu  and  the  numerous  names  in  '^ 
in  c.  13  (see  p.  136),  it  may  be  an  abbreviation. — 'Si']  this  hardly  means 
led  into  exile ;  if  it  did,  it  would  be  a  late  name  ;  see  HPN.  203. — 23.  '?x':n] 
S  ^J<:n.  Cp.  2  Ch.  7^^t.  ^^^^  is  a  Nabatsean  proper  name  (de  Vogii^, 
Syrie  Ccntrale,  No.   10) ;  cp.  the  Phoen.   names  H'^Jn  (Hannibal),   mp'rcjn 


464  NUMBERS 

(Harallcar)— the  former  common.  An  early  Hebrew  compound  with  the  same 
root  is  ]2n"?N.  S  has  ^_i]j_k>_]  =  '?x''?m  ;  this  is  otherwise  unknown,  for  as  a 
personal  name  it  would  not  be  the  same  as  the  hit-hm  of  21^^,  but  equivalent 

in  meaning  to  VnnaT ;  cp.  J<s>J  «  gifi,  and  Heb.  nVm  a  possession. — nsx] 
here  only  as  a  proper  name.— 25.  "jKiap]  also  Gn.  22^1  (J)  and  i  Ch.  27". 
— IP?p]  here  only.— 25.  ]S%^hi(]  cp.  s^"  phil.  n.— ins]  Possibly  the  Persian 
^apvdKTjs  (Herod,  viii.  126);  but  not  necessarily.  It  could  be  from  the 
Semitic  root /«>&,  which  is  found  in  Arabic,  with  inserted  r;  cp.  G.-K. 
305^.  A  district  called  Barnaki  or  Parnak  is  mentioned  by  Esarhaddon  ; 
cp.  Hommel,  Anc.  Heh.  Trad.  301.— 26.  ^n'b'js]  cp,  'yx'c'ya  2  S  -^^  (variant 
'b'73);  'p'ps  Nu.  139,  and  'ab?  Neh.  12".— py]  S  'Ofa  (al.  'Ofa)  =  niy,  or  Niy 
(e.g.  2  S.  6*)  ;  Si  iiiy  (cp.  Jer.  28').— 27.  nin-nx]  here  only,  but  probably  to 
be  read  in  i  Ch.  8^.  The  name  is  doubtless  ancient ;  cp.  11.T3N,  m.TDV,  and 
see  HPN.  205,  38  ff.,  and  note  on  i'^.  C^bfl  j-ead  'Axtwp ;  cp,  Judith  (r  ; 
if  original,  this  represents  ^^5'^x  (cp.  nnx) ;  G-^  'AxtwjS,  possibly  representing 
3N'nN  the  {my)  brother  is  a  spirit)— 'r:h^\  cp.  v.2»  n,— 28.  'jNma]  -cp.  niiim-) 
(i^"  n.)  and  see  small-print  note  on  i^-i*.  Cp.  Phoen.  una'^ya.— Ti.Tcy]  i^o  n. 
and  v.^*'  above. 

XXXV.  1-8  (F)  —The  Levitical  cities. 

The  language  of  the  section  is  that  of  P.  With  v.*  cp,  33* ;  with  v.'*, 
342 ;  with  V.8,  335^ ;  and  note  mnx  (32*  n.),  vnya  (CH.  156),  b-dt  (CH.  155) ; 
D'jpa.T  '"IV,  ct.  Dt.  ig-^* ;  '23  (CH.  19),  Peculiarities  such  as  the  unique 
combination  of  -Tn,  can,  and  nDnn  in  v.^  and  the  use  of  Tp,  with  the 
meaning  ivall  of  a  city,  may  be  due  to  the  fact  (see  below)  that  the 
section  is  P*. 

The  secular  tribes,  each  according-  to  its  size  (v.^),  are  to 
contribute  portions  of  their  landed  possession  to  the  Levites — 
in  all  48  square  plots  of  land,  each  consisting-  of  about  207 
acres,  and  containing  a  town  and  pasture-ground. 

The  carrying  out  of  the  law  is  recorded  in  Jos.  21  (P^), 
and  the  law  is  referred  to  in  Lev.  2532-  si  (p=),  jos.  14*  (F),  1  Ch. 
132,  2  Ch.  11^*  31^^"  ^^  and  also,  as  some  think,  in  Ezr.  2}^  = 
Neh.  773;  Neh.  nS- 20.36. 

According  to  these  passages,  the  Levites  duly  received 
their  cities  and  pasture-grounds  in  the  days  of  Joshua.  The 
priests  received  13  from  Judah,  Simeon,  and  Benjamin;  the  non- 
priestly  Kohathltes,  10  from  Ephraim,  Dan,  and  W.  Manasseh  ; 
the  Gershonites,  13  from  Issachar,  Asher,  Naphtali,  and  E. 
Manasseh:  the  Merarites,  12  from  Reuben,  Gad,  and  Zebulun. 
In  the  days  of  David  the  Levites  still  dwelt  in  their  own 
cities ;  but  at  the  time  of  the  disruption  of  the  monarchy  the 


XXXV.  4^5 

Levites  of  the  Northern  kingdom,  being  disowned  by  Jeroboam, 
left  their  cities  and  settled  in  Judah.  In  Judah  these  cities 
survived  at  least  as  late  as  Hezekiah,  and,  if  the  passages  in 
Ezr.  and  Neh.  be  interpreted  as  referring  to  these  cities,  were 
revived  after  the  Exile. 

But  this  history  is  fictitious.  Levitical  cities  in  the  mean- 
ing of  the  law  never  existed ;  they  were  merely  the  objects  of 
desire  in  certain  circles.  Like  the  strip  of  country  across  the 
centre  of  Canaan  which  Ezekiel  (48^""^*)  designed  for  the 
priests  and  Levites,  these  cities  never  passed  out  of  the  realm 
of  theory  into  that  of  fact. 

In  pre-exilic  times  priests  lived  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  some  in  places  (such  as'Anathoth,  Jer.  i^)  that  appear 
in  the  list  of  Levitical  cities  (Jos.  21)  and  some  in  places  that 
do  not  appear  in  that  list,  such  as  Nob  (i  S.  21^),  Shiloh 
(i  S.  1-4),  Bethel  (Am.  7^*^) ;  so  at  a  much  later  period  Matta- 
thias  lived  at  Modin  (i  Mac.  2^),  which  is  also  not  included  in 
the  list.  In  the  time  of  Saul  the  priests  at  Nob  were  so 
numerous  that  the  place  passed  by  the  name  of  "the  city  of 
priests"  (i  S.  22^^);  but  to  what  extent  these  priests  owned 
the  land  in  and  about  the  city,  and  whether  they  owned  it  as 
individuals  or  as  a  priestly  community,  is  not  stated.  From 
other  statements,  however,  it  is  clear  that  certain  individual 
priests  were  landowners ;  Abiathar,  after  the  massacre  of  the 
rest  of  his  family  at  Nob,  owned  land  at  'Anathoth  (i  K.  2-^), 
and  centuries  later  the  priestly  family  to  which  Jeremiah 
belonged  owned  land  in  the  same  city  (Jer.  32^*^-) ;  but  in 
neither  of  these  cases  is  there  any  suggestion  that  the  land 
belonged  to  the  tribe  of  Levi,  or  to  the  individuals  in  virtue 
of  their  being  priests  or  Levites.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
-Levites  as  a  class  are  described  as  "divided  and  scattered  in 
Israel"  (Gn.  49'^);  and  in  Dt.  (7th  century  B.C.)  they  are  dis- 
tinguished from  the  rest  of  the  tribes  by  the  very  fact  that 
they  possess  no  tribal  portion  of  land,  but  enjoy  instead  the 
offerings  made  to  Yahweh  (Dt.  i8^~^).  They  live  scattered 
over  the  country  in  various  cities,  which  they  dwell  in  as 
g-Sn'm  (15^^  n.),  but  which  belonged  to  others  (Dt.  18^  12^^  etc.). 
Individual  Levites  may,  like  the  priests  mentioned  above, 
30 


466  NUMBERS 

have  owned  land ;  but  the  passage  which  may  imply  this  is 
obscure  (Dt.  iS^'^).  As  a  class  the  Levites  in  Dt.  rank  with 
the  widow,  the  orphan,  and  the  ger^  and  are  commended,  on 
the  ground  that  they  have  no  landed  property,  to  the  charity 
of  the  people  (i2i2-i8f.  1427.29  ^^^w.^^  2&^^-). 

Not  only  is  the  unreality  of  the  Levitical  cities  proved  by 
the  contradictory  evidence  of  the  earlier  literature,  but  also  by 
the  impracticability  of  the  law.  As  Graf  has  well  observed,  it 
would  be  possible  to  mark  out  48  exact  squares  of  ground  in 
a  South  Russian  steppe,  or  in  the  open  and  yet  unoccupied 
tracts  of  western  North  America,  but  not  in  a  mountainous 
country  like  Palestine.  This  geometrical  treatment,  impos- 
sible in  the  actual  land,  has  its  parallel  in  Ezekiel's  ideal 
division  of  W.  Palestine  into  a  series  of  exact  parallelograms 
(Ezek.  48).  Further  contradictions  and  impossibilities  appear 
when  we  take  account  of  the  cities  actually  named  in  Jos.  21 ; 
for  these,  reference  must  be  made  to  the  commentary  on  that 
chapter. 

The  amount  of  land  required  by  Ezekiel  for  the  priests  and 
Levites  (25,000  x  20,000  cubits  =  about  40  square  miles)  con- 
siderably exceeds  that  required  by  the  present  law  (2000  X  2000 
cubits  X  48  =  about  15 1  square  miles),  and  might  on  that 
ground  be  regarded  as  the  later  claim.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  demand  for  Levitical  land  in  Ezekiel  is  organically  con- 
nected with  his  fundamental  scheme, — the  maintenance  of  a 
holy  cordon  round  the  temple,  situated  in  the  centre  of  the 
land, — whereas  the  priestly  theory  is  so  far  governed  by  the 
actualities  of  the  situation  that  it  contemplates,  instead  of  a 
single  district,  cities  distributed  over  the  country  (cp.  We. 
Proleg.  162).  There  seems  no  reason  therefore  to  question 
that,  here  as  in  other  matters,  the  ideals  of  Ezekiel  were 
adopted  with  modifications  from  P.  In  this  particular  matter 
of  grants  and  dues  made  to  the  priests  and  Levites  two  stages 
may  be  marked  within  P  :  the  law  contained  in  c.  18  (P^), 
which  was  shown  to  be  later  than  Ezekiel  (see  p.  236  ff.), 
provides  (v.^^-  2*,  cp.  26*^^)  that  the  priests  and  Levites  shall 
receive  dues  and  tithes  2«i'/ea<;?<?/'landed property;  the  present 
law  that  the  Levites  (including  the  priests,  cp.  Jos.  21)  shall 


XXXV.  1-4  4^7 

have  "cities  to  dwell  in"  (seen,  on  v.^).  These  cities  and 
the  surrounding  land  are  elsewhere  clearly  asserted  to  be  the 
inalienable  possession  of  the  Levites  (Lev.  25^^"^*).  The  most 
natural  conclusion  is  that  the  present  law  and  the  connected 
passages  are  later  than  the  theory  of  P^,  as  stated  in  c.  18. 

1-  3f'^-—^'  Cities  to  divell  in  (nnci'^  D^iy)]  this  has  often 
been  explained  to  mean  **  cities  to  dwell  In,  but  not  to  own  "  ; 
and  so  In  J  OS.  14*  2 1^.  But  the  phrase  does  not  necessarily  mean 
this ;  for  see  Dt.  13^^,  and  especially  Jud.  18^.  The  distinction, 
if  admitted,  would  be  verbal  rather  than  real.  In  Lev.  25^^"^* 
the  cities  and  pasture-land  of  the  Levites  are  clearly  inalien- 
able.— Pasture-groiind\  such  may  have  been  the  original  mean- 
ing of  li'iJD  (the  place  of  driving  (cattle) ;  cp.  "im») ;  and  if 
so,  the  original  sense  may  be  still  retained  in  i  Ch.  5^^.  But 
in  most  of  the  passages  in  the  OT.  (Lev.,  Nu.,  Ezek.,  Ch. 
only)  in  which  the  word  migrdsh  is  used,  it  has  acquired  a 
more  technical  sense,  and  means,  apparently,  the  land  round 
a  town  in  which  the  community  has  common  rights  (cp. 
Ezek.  48'5-i7).  in  Jos.  2ii"-,  i  Ch.  6*o^-(55)  the  migrash  and 
sadeh  {field \  cp.  on  22^"^  n.)  are  distinguished.  Fenton  {Early 
Hebrew  Life^  38)  has  suggested  that  the  migrash  corre- 
sponded to  the  arable  mark  of  a  German  community,  i.e.  the 
cultivated  tract  which  lay  immediately  round  a  town,  and 
was  divided  among  the  body  of  communists ;  whereas  the 
sadeh  corresponded  to  the  pasture-mark  or  more  distant  land 
left  in  undivided  commonalty.  It  is  not  clear  that  the  present 
writer  has  so  sharp  a  distinction  between  migrash  and  sadeh 
in  mind ;  the  only  use  of  the  migrdsh  to  which  he  refers  is  the 
use  of  them  for  pasture  (v.^). — 3.  For  their  cattle,  and  for  their 
possessions,  and  for  all  their  beasts]  between  two  words  for 
living  things,  5i'D"i  probably  has  the  same  meaning :  cp.  for 
such  a  use  Gn.  13^  and,  perhaps,  31^^.  The  terms  seem  to  be 
combined  for  effect,  without  thought  of  exact  distinctions. — 
4.  The  pasture-ground  or  migrash  is  to  extend  1000  cubits, 
i.e.  about  500  yards  from  the  wall  of  the  town. — 5.  Each  side 
(nx2)  of  the  migrdsh  is  to  measure  2000  cubits,  i.e.  about 
1000  yards  ;  thus  the  migrdsh  is  to  be  an  exact  square.  Some 
{e.g.  Di.),  it  is  true,  understand  v.'*  and  v.^  taken  together  to 


468  NUMBERS 

mean  that  the  migrdsh  shall  consist  of  four  plots  of  ground,  each 
adjoining  the  side  of  the  town,  but  not  necessarily  connected 
with  one  another,  and  each  consisting  of  2000  x  1000  sqtcare 
cubits.  But  this  is  certainly  not  the  meaning  of  the  text. 
Nothing  could  more  exactly  describe  a  square  than  v.^ ;  and 
from  this,  interpretation  must  start.  V.*  implies,  as  Keil 
recognised,  that  each  side  of  the  migrdsh  is  2000  +  x  cubits 
(x  being  the  length  of  the  city  wall) ;  v.^  distinctly  states  that 
each  side  is  2000  cubits  precisely ;  these  two  statements  are 
only  compatible  with  one  another  if  x  =  o,  i.e.  if  the  city  be 
reduced  to  a  point.  If  the  text  be  correct  (but  see  phil.  n. 
on  V.*),  it  necessarily  follows  that  the  writer  in  v.^  forgot  to 
allow  for  the  dimensions  of  the  city.  That  v.^  really  means, 
as  Keil  suggests,  that  each  side  of  the  migrdsh  is  not  2000 
cubits,  but  2000  cubits  +  the  dimension  of  the  city,  is  im- 
possible. A  remarkable  attempt  to  harmonise  v.^  and  v.^  was 
made  by  Saalschiitz  [Das  Mosdische  Recht,  100  ff.),  who  took 
2''2'0  in  v.*  to  imply. that  the  city  was  a  circle,  the  1000  cubits 
of  V.'*  to  be  a  line  from  this  circle  to  an  outer  circle,  the  2000 
cubits  of  v.^  this  +  a  prolongation  of  1000  cubits  beyond  the 
outer  circle  in  four  directions  to  four  corners  (nSD) ;  the  whole 
plan  (of  which  Saalschiitz  gives  a  diagram)  is  a  geometrical 
star,  consisting  of  four  triangles  inscribed  on  a  circle. — 
6  f.  The  cities  are  to  number  in  all  48,  and  are  to  include  the 
six  cities  of  refuge  which  are  described  at  length  in  the  next 
section,  v.^^-. — 8.  The  tribes  are  to  find  cities  for  the  Levites 
in  proportion  to  their  size;  cp.  26^*  33^^.  This  is  not  very 
accurately  observed  in  the  narrative  of  Jos.  21 ;  for  Naphtali 
gives  only  three  cities,  though  at  the  second  census  (c.  26)  it 
was  larger  than  either  Ephraim  or  Gad,  each  of  which  gives 
four;  and  though  Issachar  and  Dan  are  each  twice  as  large 
as  Ephraim,  all  three  tribes  give  the  same  number  of  cities. 

2.  umi ...  is]  unusual.  For  a  slightly  different  and  also  rare  formula, 
cp.  5^  n. — nninx  rhni]  the  two  words  are  thus  combined  here  only  ;  note  the 
reverse  combination  n'?m  nins  27^. — I3nn]  (&  S>  un'. — tJ'nJO]  ffi  has  no  less 
than  four  renderings  of  this  word  in  these  8  verses — wpoda-Tia,  dcpoplcrfiaTa, 
Hfiopa.,  and  avyKvpovvra  ;  yet  another,  irepicnropia,  appears  in  Jos.  and  Ch. 
The  term  tfnJD  was  possibly  also  used  in  Phoen.:  Hoffmann,  Ueher  einige 
Phcen.  Inschrifien,  p.  6. — 4.  f]^iS']  CHr  Sktx'X'oi'J. — Tp]   the  word   regularly 


XXXV.  6-1 1  469 

used  elsewhere  for  the  wall  of  a  city  is  nDin :  so,  e.g.,  Jos.  2"  6'-^  (J^)) 
Dt.  35,  Lev.  25-9-31  (H),  Am.  i',  i  S.  311",  Neh.  i^.  On  the  other  hand,  Tp, 
frequently  used  of  the  walls  of  a  house  {e.g.  Lev.  i4^''*  ^  (P),  i  S.  iS^^  20-^), 
also  of  a  vineyard,  22-^  (JE),  and  of  the  sides  of  the  altar  (Ex.  30^  37-", 
Lev.  i^^  5^— all  P),  is  quite  exceptionally  used  of  the  wall  of  a  city  ;  Jos.  2^^ 
is  hardly  parallel.  This  being-  the  case  it  would  be  better  to  question 
the  text  (?  read  TV  no  for  tj;.i  Tpa)  than  to  adopt  any  of  the  hazardous 
exegetical  devices  for  harmonising  the  measurements  in  v.''^-, — 5.  en*?] 
ffi  S  S  D^S. — 6a.  The  cstr.  is  faulty  but  possibly  original ;  ffi  omits  the 
first  liJ'N,  Paterson  the  second.  The  meaning  of  the  whole  'is  clear. — 
7.  priN]  cp.  Jud.  2o"''-  ^'"',  and  see  G.-K.  1177W.— 8.  -hny]  S  hny. 

XXXV.  9-24  (P).— The  cities  of  refuge  and  the  law  of 
homicide. — V.^~^^,  a  command  to  appoint  six  cities  for  the 
reception  of  persons  who  accidentally  commit  homicide  ;  v. ^^"2^, 
illustrations  of  the  difference  between  manslaughter  and 
murder ;  v.^*"^^-  ^^-  ^^  (cp.  v.^^-  ^i^-),  legal  procedure  in  case  of 
homicide;  v.^^,  a  subscription;  v.^^^-,  the  religious  motive  of 
the  law.     Grammatically,  v.^-^-  and  v. 2**-  are  connected. 

9  f.  Introductory  formulae  ;  with  v.*  cp.  i^  n.  (P) ;  with  v.^"^ 
cp.  33^^  (P). — 10-15.  After  Israel  has  crossed  Jordan,  six  cities, 
three  on  the  E.  and  three  on  the  W.  of  Jordan,  are  to  be 
appointed  as  places  where  all  homicides,  whether  native 
Israelites,  ger,  ovtoshdb,  may  find  an  asylum  from  the  kinsmen 
of  the  slain  person  till  it  can  be  legally  determined  whether 
death  was  inflicted  wilfully  or  accidentally,  and  where  the 
person  who  has  accidentally  committed  homicide  may  find  a 
permanent  asylum  (cp.  v.^^^-).  The  appointment  of  six  cities 
in  accordance  with  this  law  is  recorded  in  Jos.  20  (P).  Both 
the  present  passage  and  Jos.  20  are  at  variance  with  Dt.  4^^"^^ 
which  refers  the  appointment  of  the  three  cities  E.  of  Jordan 
to  Moses  himself  before  Israel  crossed  Jordan.  On  the  relation 
of  Dt.  4"-^  to  the  law  of  Dt.  igi-i^,  and  of  both  these 
passages  to  the  present,  see  Driver,  Deut.  78,  230  ff. — 11.  Then 
shall  ye  select  as  suitable  for  yourselves  cities\  mpn  means  "  to 
bring  the  rights  or  fit-,  thing  before  one  "  (cp.  Gn.  24^2  2720J ; 
if  the  text  is  right,  the  vb.  has  here  acquired  some  such  sense 
as  **  to  select  a.s^t,  suitable  " ;  but  unless  "i")p'''i  should  be  read 
for  Idp"'')  in  Jos.  20'^,*  there  is  no  other  instance  of  such  a 
sense.  G's  SiaariWo)  (cp.  RV.  appoint^  appears  to  be  a 
*  Kue.  Th.  Tijd.  xi.  478. 


470  NUMBERS 

mere  paraphrase  both  here  and  in  Dt.  ig^-  '^,  where  it  renders 
bnan.  —  Cities  of  Refuge\  the  exact  meaning-  of  D/pD  is  un- 
certain, but  it  may  mean  place  of  reception  rather  than  place 
of  refuge.  The  only  other  derivative  from  the  root  used  in 
the  OT.  is  tDl7p  (Lev.  22^^  t),  a  word  of  obscure  meaning-. 
In  Rabbinic  the  root  is  chiefly  used  in  speaking-  of  the  cities 
of  refuge;  but  it  is  also  used  more  widely,  as,  for  example, 
of  the  collection  or  reception  of  rain-water  (see  Levy).  If  the 
literal  sense  be  "cities  of  reception,"  cp.  Jos.  20*  "they  (the 
elders  of  the  city)  shall  receive  (laDX"*)  him  into  the  city."  The 
technical  term  "cities  of  refuge"  (D^pr3(n)  '<-ij?)  occurs  outside 
this  chapter  in  Jos.  20^^-,  i  Ch  6'*^- ^^ ^^'^- ^^^ :  the  fuller  phrase 
nS"in  O^plD  "i^y  occurs  five  times  in  Jos.  21.  D  uses  no  technical 
term. — The  vianslayer\  by  itself  T\T\T\  rather  suggests  a  wilful 
murderer  (cp.  v.^*"^-) ;  it  therefore  requires  here  the  addition  of 
the  smiler  of  anyone  (5i'3^ ;  5^  n.)  unintentionally  (njJC'^ ;  15^* 
phil.  n.). — 12.  From  a  goel\  read  rather  with  <&,from  the  go  el 
hnd-ddtn;  cp.  v.^^-^^  (E)  "avenger  of  blood."  There  is  no 
satisfactory  Eng-lish  equivalent  for  go  el,  gd'el  had-dam.  The 
primary  meaning  of  the  root  gl  is  uncertain  ;  but  apart  from 
its  secondary  metaphorical  use  with  reference  to  the  divine 
deliverance  of  Israel,  it  most  commonly  means  to  discharge  the 
duties  resting  o?i  one  as  next  of  kin,*  whether  those  duties  be 
to  contract  a  levirate  marriage  (Ru.  3^^),  or  to  exact  payment 
due  to  the  deceased  (5^),  or  to  buy  a  kinsman  out  of  slavery 
into  which  poverty  has  compelled  him  to  sell  himself  (Lev. 
25*^),  or  to  buy  back  a  field  sold  under  similar  circumstances 
(Lev.  25^),  or  to  buy  property  to  prevent  its  passings  out  of 
the  family  (Jer.  32''^-).  The  duty  oi  tho.  go  el  had-ddm  must  be 
interpreted  in  the  light  of  these  other  duties.  "In  the  event 
of  the  depletion  of  the  family  life  by  the  loss  of  blood — the  loss 
of  a  life — the  goel  had  a  responsibility  of  securing-  to  the 
family  an  equivalent  of  that  loss,  by  other  blood,  or  by  an 
agreed  payment  for  its  value.  His  mission  was  not  veng-eance, 
but   equity.     He   was    not   an   avenger,    but   a    redeemer,  a 

*  Cp.  the  Arabic  -a'Ali,  which  corresponds  to  the  Heb.  go  el  had-dam, 
but  means  primarily  the  one  7vho  stands  near,  the  friend:  Goldziher, 
Muham.  Studicn,  ii.  286. 


XXXV.  12  47 1 

restorer,  a  balancer"  (Clay  Trumbull,  Blood  Covenant,  260). 
The  goel  had-dam  belongs  properly  to  a  period  of  family 
organisation ;  and  the  part  played  by  him  is  only  one  instance 
of  survivals  from  an  earlier  and  simpler  organisation  in  the 
more  complex  social  life  which  the  Hebrews  subsequently 
developed.  In  three  important  respects  the  present  law 
modifies  the  ancient  custom:  (i)  It  insists  that  life  is  to  be 
forfeited  only  in  case  of  wilful  murder ;  in  primitive  custom  it 
makes  no  difference  whether  loss  of  life  was  due  to  malice  or 
accident ;  in  either  case  loss  had  been  inflicted  on  one  family 
by  another,  and  it  was  the  duty  of  the  goel  to  see  that  that 
loss  was  made  good.  (2)  The  law  tacitly  insists  that  the  life 
of  the  actual  murderer  only  can  become  forfeit.  In  primitive 
custom  it  was  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  the  loss 
inflicted  on  a  family  was  made  good  by  shedding  the  blood  of 
the  actual  homicide  or  another  member  of  his  family ;  cp.  the 
case  of  the  seven  members  of  Saul's  family  slain  for  his 
offence  (2  S.  21^^-),  and  the  still  existing  custom  in  Arabia 
according  to  which,  when  homicide  is  paid  off  in  money,  the 
money  is  exacted  from  all  male  members  of  the  tribe.*  (3)  The 
law  forbids  the  acceptance  of  a  money  equivalent  for  a  forfeited 
life.  But  in  spite  of  these  important  modifications  the  law 
is  transitional ;  it  still  leaves  the  exaction  of  the  forfeited  life 
to  XhQ. goel  had-ddm,  the  representative  of  the  family,  instead 
of  making  it  the  duty  of  a  representative  of  the  whole  com- 
munity; and  thus  it  does  not  abolish  the  ancient  family 
institution,  but  simply  modifies  and  regulates  it  in  the  larger 
interests  of  the  State.  In  the  case  of  accidental  homicide  the 
community  or  State  prevents  the  go  el  discharging  his  duty  to 
his  family;  in  the  case  of  murder,  it  insists  that  he  shall 
discharge  that  duty  in  a  particular  way,  viz.  by  taking  the 
life  of  the  murderer.  But  though  it  thus  remains  to  the  last 
transitional,  Hebrew  law  marks  a  very  distinct  advance  by  so 
modifying  primitive  custom  as  to  secure  an  adequate  punish- 
ment for  the  individual gnWty  of  murder,  and  a  clear  distinction 
between  accidental  and  wilful  homicide. f — The  congregation\ 

*  W.  R.  Smith,  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Arabia,  262  f. 

t  See,  further,  on  various  points  alluded  to,  Driver,  Deut.  234,  and 


472  NUMBERS 

i^  n.  and  phil.  n.  In  what  way,  or  by  what  representative 
body,  the  community  acted  in  determining"  the  guilt  or 
innocence  of  one  accused  of  murder  is  not  stated  either  here 
or  in  v.^^^- ;  the  same  vagueness  marks  other  passages  where 
judicial  decision  or  execution  is  referred  to  the  whole  people ; 
see  1532-36^  Lev.  24^*"^^.  To  limit  the  congregation  here  to  the 
community  of  the  place  to  which  the  homicide  belonged  (Di.) 
would  make  the  procedure  prescribed  somewhat  similar  to 
that  required  in  Dt.  19^^,  but  it  would  involve  giving  the 
phrase  a  meaning  different  from  that  with  which  it  is  con- 
stantly used  by  P. — 14.  Beyond  Jordait]  i.e.  east  of  Jordan  : 
the  term  is  used  anachronistically,  for  the  people  are  repre- 
sented as  being  E.  of  Jordan  at  the  time  this  law  is  given  (cp. 
yj^^  22^  36^^). — 15.  The  ger\  15^^  n. — The  tdshah\  the  term  is 
confined  to  P  (Gn.  23*,  Ex.  12^,  Lev.  22I0  256-  23. 35. 40.45.  47)  and 
Ps.  39^^,  I  Ch.  29^^;  it  did  not  occur  in  the  original  text  of 
I  K.  17^  (see  (S).  The  exact  meaning  of  the  term  is  not 
clear ;  possibly  the  toshdb,  or  settler,  was  a  person  not  of 
Hebrew  birth,  who  was  attached  to  a  Hebrew  family  in  some 
more  permanent  way  than  the  day-labourer  (i''3ti') ;  see  n. 
on  Lev.  25*^  in  SBOT.,  and  cp.  Ex.  12*^  with  Baentsch's  note. 
16-23.  The  distinction  between  murder  and  manslaughter 
exemplified.  —  Cp.  and  ct.  Ex.  2112-11^  Dt.  19*^- 1"-.  The 
fundamental  distinction  is  one  of  intention.  Evidence  of 
intention  is  to  be  sought  in  [a)  the  character  of  the  instru- 
ment, v.^^~^^;  [b)  the  previous  feelings,  or  the  feelings  at  the 
time  of  the  homicide,  whether  friendly  or  the  reverse,  v.^''"^^ 
Obviously  [a)  and  {b)  may  clash  ;  apparently,  if  death  resulted 
from  the  blow  of  a  murderous  instrument,  the  burden  of  proving 
lack  of  intention  and  absence  of  previous  unfriendly  relations 
with  the  slain  man  lay  on  the  homicide ;  cp.  v.^^  and  v.^^^^. — 
16-18.  Of  the  three  classes  of  instruments  or  objects  here 
mentioned,  the  two  latter  are  distinctly  described  as  calculated 
or  likely  to  be  the  cause  of  death  (n  TWO''  "W^),  Failing 
evidence  to  the  contrary  (cp.  v.^^),   the  use  of  any  of  these 

literature  there  cited,  and  also  his  art.  "  Goal "  in  EBi.  ;  Clay  Trumbull, 
Blood  Covenant,  259-263  ;  Otto  Procksch,  Ueber  die  Blutrache  hei  den 
vorislamischen  Arabem  tend  Mohmnmeds  Stellung  su  iJir  (Leipzig-,  1S99). 


XXXV.  14-23  473 

must  be  taken  as  proof  of  intention  to  murder,  and  if  death 
results  the  user  must  be  adjudged  a  murderer  and  die.  The 
case  of  less  serious  results  from  the  use  of  such  instruments 
is  considered  in  Ex.  2i^^'-. — 16.  An  instrument  of  z'ron]  cp. 
Dt.  19^ — 17.  A  stone  m  the  hand\  i.e.  a  stone  that  can  be 
grasped  or  thrown  with  the  hand ;  cp.  H^  ^pD  a  staff  carried 
in  the  hand,  Ezek.  39® ;  and  similarly  18  a  ivooden  instrument 
such  as  can  be  held  in  the  hand',  so  rather  than  a  stone  large 
cno'ugh  to  Jill  the  hand  (Rashi). — 19,  like  v.^^*',  anticipates  the 
fuller  discussion  of  procedure  in  v.^^"^-. — 20  f.  But  death  may 
be  caused  by  a  push  or  the  like  (v.^^*;  cp.  v.^sa)^  or  by  instru- 
ments of  a  type  different  from  those  just  described  (v.^*^'' ;  cp. 
V.2-*'),  or  by  a  blow  of  the  hand:  in  these  cases,  if  previous 
enmity  (nn^K,  or  nxj::')  can  be  proved,  or  it  can  be  shown  that 
the  particular  act  was  premeditated  {nnv3  v.^o''),  the  man  is  a 
murderer,  and  to  be  left  to  destruction  at  the  hands  of  the 
g^el.  The  push,  or  the  use  of  an  instrument  not  in  itself 
murderous,  is,  unless  proof  to  the  contrary  be  forthcoming, 
to  be  judged  unintentional ;  a  fatal  blow  with  the  hand  cannot 
be  unintentional,  but  may  have  been  given  in  the  heat  of 
sudden  (v.^^)  anger,  and  without  any  intention  of  inflicting 
serious  damage.  —  20.  If  he  push  hirn\  the  kind  of  action 
implied  by  f)in  may  be  gathered  from  Ezek.  34^1  ("because 
ye  push  with  the  side  and  the  shoulder ")  and  2  K.  4^^  (of 
Gehazi's  attempt  to  remove  the  Shunamitess  from  Elisha's 
feet). — Or  cast  on  him\  supply  with  (&  and  v.^^  any  object  (73 
"h^),  i.e.  any  object  not  of  the  kind  contemplated  in  v.^*~^^, 
anything  which  would  not  ordinarily  be  employed  with  intent 
to  kill. — 22.  Reverse  of  v.^^. — 23.  Continuation  of  v.^'^i  even 
if  death  has  resulted  from  a  murderous  implement,  the  charge 
of  murder  can  be  repulsed  by  showing  that  the  homicide  did 
not  see  the  slain  man  when  he  allowed  the  implement  to  fall, 
and  that  he  had  no  previous  enmity  towards  the  deceased,  nor 
any  unsatisfied  grudge.  This  case  is  the  closest  parallel  to  the 
only  instance  cited  in  Dt.  19,  though  even  this  case  is  very 
differently  described  in  the  two  laws.  The  logical  and  sym- 
metrical conclusion  to  this  v.  would  have  been  :  the  manslayer 
is  no  murderer ;  the  go'el  shall  not  put  him  to  death.     And 


474  NUMBERS 

again,  logically  and  actually,  v.^*  belong-s  quite  as  much  to 
y_20f.  a^g  {-Q  v'.22f. :  the  question  of  previous  enmity  and  intent 
is  precisely  what  the  judges  have  to  determine. 

18.  in]  read  cm  with  G  S ;  cp.  v.»«-  ^  ;  in  v.^^-  2'-  22b.  23  the  use  of  ix 
(  =  or  if)  is  different;  it  introduces  an  alternative  protasis;  and  there  is 
but  one — a  common — apodosis  which  follows  (v.-^  and  v.^^)  the  three  alter- 
native protases. — 20.  nns]  also  v.^  nns  x'^af;  cp.  the  use  of  the  verb  in 
Ex.  21^^,  I  S.  24'2-}-,  The  phrase  need  scarcely  be  rendered  too  literally 
(RV.);  rather  insidiously,  or  even  intentionally. — 21.  Nin  nsn]  C5  +  ri»v  niD 
nn,T;  cp.  in  |^  v.^^b  before  v."".— 22.  ynEjn]  6^  n.  t-— 23.  ^S'l  .  .  •  pK  h^i. 
The  cstr.  is  irregular  ;  Ss'i  after  the  objective  clause  could  be  explained  by 
Driver,  Tenses,  §  127,  but  '7'Dn  takes  a  direct  ace.  ;  the  sentence  seems  to 
have  been  begun  under  the  influence  of  other  clauses  introduced  with  the  a 
of  the  instrument.  The  negation  of  the  part,  cpao  by  n"?  is  also  anomalous  ; 
Driver,  §  162  (p.  205  n.  2). — On  xVa,  cp.  BDB.  520a. 

24-32.  Legal  procedure. — At  some  place,  not  the  city  of 
refuge  itself  (iTL^Tn  v.^),  the  community  (cp.  v.^^  n.)  is  to 
adjudicate  in  accordance  with  the  foregoing  (v.^^"-^)  rules  (v.^*), 
and  on  the  evidence  of  at  least  two  witnesses  (v.^") ;  if  the 
infliction  of  death  is  found  to  have  been  wilful,  the  go' el  must 
slay  the  homicide  (v.^^-  '^*') ;  but  if  accidental  or  unpremeditated 
(v. 22'-),  the  homicide  is  sent  back  to  the  city  of  refuge  and 
there  detained  till  the  death  of  the  high  priest,  after  which  he 
may  return  to  his  own  home  (v.^-  ^s) ;  but  if  he  leave  the  city 
during  the  high  priest's  lifetime,  the  go5l  has  the  right  to  slay 
him.  In  no  case  may  a  money  payment  be  accepted  either  in 
lieu  of  the  capital  punishment  for  wilful  murder,  or  of  deten- 
tion in  the  city  of  refuge  for  accidental  homicide  (v.^"-). 

In  the  parallel  laws  (Ex.  21^2-u^  Dt_  igi-i3)  neither  the 
judicial  authority  nor  the  term  of  detention  is  defined;  the 
elders  of  the  homicide's  city,  who  are  mentioned  in  Dt.  19^^, 
are  not  the  judicial  authority ;  but,  in  a  case  otherwise  deter- 
mined to  be  one  of  wilful  murder,  they  become  intermediaries 
in  the  execution  of  justice.  Read  by  itself,  Dt.  suggests  that 
the  detention  was  lifelong.  While  the  mere  altar  was  the 
asylum  (Ex.  2i^3'-),  detention  beside  it  can  hardly  have  been 
prolonged ;  an  instance  of  actual  practice  in  the  case  of  a 
refugee  at  the  altar  is  to  be  found  in  i  K.  i^^'- :  the  homicide 
leaves  the  altar  under  the  protection  of  a  solemn  oath.  In 
Jos.  20*  (v.*^  omitted  by  C5)  the  homicide  states  his  case  to 


XXXV.  24-30  475 

the  elders  of  the  city  of  refuge  before  admission^  and,  subse- 
quently, according-  to  the  scarcely  self-consistent  v.^,  to  the 
whole  community. 

24.  According  to  these  judgments^  or  legal  rules  ;  a  similar 
set  of  legal  rules  stating  what  is  to  be  done  under  given  con- 
ditions, appear  under  the  same  title  of  □''L:sl*'?0  in  Ex.  21^. 
These  (n^x)  refers  to  what  precedes  (in  v.^^'^s^  a.s  often  ;  see, 
e.g.,  Gn.  9^^,  Lev.  21^*,  Ps.  15^. — 25.  The  congregation  shall 
send  hi^n  back  (^"'t^'m)  to  his  city  of  reftige,  which,  it  must  be 
inferred,  he  had  left  to  take  his  trial. — The  high  priest  wlio  has 
been  anointed  with  the  holy  oil]  for  similar  redundant  defini- 
tions, see  Lev.  21^**  16^^.  Most  frequently  in  P,  Aaron  or 
Ele'azar  (as  the  case  may  be)  is  merely  termed  "the  priest  "  ; 
occasionally,  and  chiefly,  as  here,  when  no  reference  has  been 
made  by  name  to  the  person  intended,  more  distinctive  terms 
or  descriptions  are  used ;  these  most  frequently  refer  to  the 
distinctive  anointing  of  Aaron  and  his  successors  (Ex.  29'^-  ^^, 
Lev.  8^2);  see  Lev.  4^-^-^^  6^^(22)  J532  21I0.12.  po^  the  term 
•'  high  priest"  {hfin  jnan)  see  v.^s,  Lev.  21^°,  Jos.  20"^  (the  only 
occurrences  in  the  Hexateuch),  2  K.  12^^  22*,  Hag.  i^-  ^2, 
Zech.  3^,  Neh.  3^. — The  determination  of  the  detention  of  the 
homicide  by  the  life  of  the  high  priest  may  be  a  complete 
novelty  in  this  post-exilic  law.  It  is  also  possible,  as  Di. 
suggests,  that  it  is  a  modified  survival  of  an  earlier  practice ; 
it  may  be  that  at  some  of  the  asyla  of  ancient  Israel,  homicides 
were  detained  till  the  death  of  the  chief  priest  who  had  charge 
of  the  sanctuary. — 27.  Jle,  the  go  el,  has  no  blood]  viz.  to 
answer  for  (cp.  Ex.  22^).  The  go  el  is  free  from  blame,  be- 
cause the  homicide,  by  leaving  his  asylum,  falls  again  under 
the  ancient  custom  that  required  the  go'el  to  kill ;  the  blood 
shed  is  therefore  not  innocent,  and  does  not  call  for  vengeance 
(cp.  Dt.  19^^). — 29.  A  subscription  which,  presumably,  once 
stood  at  the  conclusion  of  a  law.  The  regulations  in  v.^'^"^^ 
may  have  been  drawn  from  some  other  law  of  manslaughter 
and  asylum. — A  statute  of  judgment]  27^^  !• — Throngho^d  yozir 
generations  (10^  n.)  in  all  your  dwellijtgs  (Ex.  12^^,  Lev.  3^^ 
etc.;  CH.  55^).  i.e.  perpetually  over  the  whole  country  the  law 
is  to  be  valid. — 30.  Two  witnesses  are  required  before  a  capital 


476  NUMBERS 

sentence  can  be  passed;  cp.  Dt.  17^;  Dt.  ig"^^  requires  at 
least  two  witnesses  on  any  charge. — 31.  The  wilful  murderer 
is  not  to  be  allowed  to  buy  off  the  death  penalty  by  a  money 
payment.  The  money  equivalent  for  a  life,  which  the  Hebrews 
called  "1D3  (cp.  especially  Ex.  21^^^),  was  widely  prevalent;  cp. 
tlie  Greek  iroLvrjy  the  Germanic  wergild  (for  references,  see 
Driver,  Deict.  p.  234).  It  seems  to  have  been  prohibited  at 
an  early  period  in  Israel,  though  this  is  the  earliest  explicit 
prohibition ;  see  Ex.  21^^,  Dt.  19^"^^  (note  especially  v.^^), 
Lev.  24^^  (H),  Gn.  9^'-  (P).  But  in  a  particular  case  of  loss 
of  life  not  due  to  wilful  murder,  the  early  code  expressly  pro- 
vides for  the  payment  of  a  ~iM  (Ex.  21-^'-).  Mohammed 
suffered  the  ancient  practice  of  making  a  money  payment  to 
continue  even  in  the  case  of  wilful  murder  (Kor.  7}^^^-). — 32. 
The  prohibition  of  quit-money  in  lieu  of  detention  at  the 
asylum  is  peculiar  to  this  law ;  it  serves  to  bring  out  the 
punitive  character  of  the  detention. — For  him  that  is  fled\  so 
RV.;  it  is  a  highly  questionable  rendering  of  MT.  (d"13P),  but 
rightly  represents  the  original  text ;  see  below. — 33  f.  The  law 
concludes  with  a  religious  motive  for  carrying  it  out,  or,  rather, 
for  the  careful  distinction  between  murder  and  manslaughter, 
and  for  the  infliction  of  the  death  penalty  for  murder.  The 
land  in  the  midst  of  which  Yahweh  dwells  must  be  kept  free 
from  pollution  (cp.  5^  n.) ;  the  defilement  of  Canaan  even 
before  Yahweh  took  up  His  dwelling  there  had  brought 
destruction  on  the  former  inhabitants  (Lev.  18^^;  Qp.  Is. 
24'*'-).  A  grievous  cause  of  pollution  or  profanation,  and,  con- 
sequently, of  danger  (cp.  Dt.  21^"^),  is  the  shedding  of  blood, 
especially  the  blood  of  the  innocent  (Ps.  106^^;  cp.  Driver, 
DeiU.  p.  241) ;  and  such  pollution  can  only  be  expiated  by  the 
shedding  of  the  blood  of  the  man  who  caused  it  (cp.  Gn.  g-'*'-). 
—34b.  Cp.  Ex.  29^. 

32.  C13S]  G  already  found  this  reading' ;  but  read  DjV.  See  Paterson's 
note  In  5i?Or.— jiDn]  S  CS  5  +^njn;  cp.  v.^s- 28  |j^^  £>;,  suggests  that 
S-\-\i7i  may  be  in  all  cases  a  gloss. — 33.  isi'^nn]  This  vb.  only  occurs  in  the 
Hexateuch  in  this  v. — ra  Dnx  ne-x]  ffi  S  S  insert  D'as"  before  na  ;  cp.  v."(|§). 
—34.  KDcn]  read  iNCon  with  S  (S  5  STo. 

XXXVL  (P').  A  law  regulating  the  marriage  of  heiresses. 


XXXV.  3I-XXXVI.  2  477 

Selopheliad's  daughters  marry  their  uncles.  —This  chapter  is  a 
supplement  to  27^^"^^,  The  case  of  Selophehad's  daughters 
there  led  to  the  promulgation  of  a  law  permitting  the  daughters 
of  a  man  dying  without  male  issue  to  inherit  his  (landed) 
estate.  The  object  of  that  law  was  to  prevent  the  estate 
passing  away  from  the  man's  descendants ;  as  a  consequence, 
so  it  seemed  to  be  there  assumed  (27*  n.),  it  would  remain  a 
part  of  the  possession  of  his  clan,  and,  therefore,  of  his  tribe. 
This  supplemental  law  expHcitly  enforces  that  consequence  by 
forbidding  women  so  inheriting  to  marry  men  of  another 
tribe. 

It  thus  seems  likely  that  the  present  passage  is  a  supplement  by  a  later 
hand.  Certain  variations  in  style  and  expression  are  then  at  once  ex- 
plained ;  note  fjor  '33  nnstt-no  (v.^)  as  against  f]DV-[3  nma  nntufah  (27I)  ;  nnTi 
nDx'i  .  .  .  'js"?  (v."-)  as  against  laxh  .  .  .  'jb"?  nnD^m  (27") ;  the  persons 
approached  here  are  Moses  and  the  princes,  "the  heads  of  the  fathers' 
houses  "  (nuN  ';^'^•^  n^N'C'^n) ;  but  in  27^  they  are  Moses,  Ele'azar,  the  princes, 
and  all  the  congregation.  This  contrast  is  not  removed  even  if  the  addi- 
tion of  Ele'azar  here  {(&  &)  is  not,  as  it  most  probably  is,  merely  an 
insertion  from  27^.  Ct.  also  the  introduction  of  the  law  here  (v.^)  and  in 
2^6-8_  The  supplementer  is  mainly  influenced  in  style  by  P  (cp.  e.g.  ncD), 
but  not  exclusively  ;  note,  e.g.,  'JiN  (v.^),  and,  once,  ana'  (v.^). 

1-4.  The  representatives  of  Gile'ad  draw  the  attention  of 
Moses  and  the  representatives  of  Israel  to  the  danger  that  the 
land  allotted  to  Manasseh  will  be  diminished  if  Selophehad's 
daughters,  who  have  inherited  their  father's  land  (27^"^^), 
marry  men  of  other  tribes. — 1.  T/ie  heads  ofthefaiher^  houses] 
cp.  i2  n.  1718(3)  2i26  n.— Of  the  family  of  the  children  of  Gilead] 
Since  the  sons  of  Gile'ad  (26^'')  constituted  many  families 
(nhSB^D),  the  word  should  perhaps  be  punctuated  as  a  pi.  here 
and  rendered  of  the  families. — lb.  Cp.  and  ct.  27^. — 2a.  26^2-56^ 
— 2b.  Cp.  27'^. — My  lord]  The  periphrastic  use  of  my  lord  for 
you  never  occurs  in  P^,  is  common  in  JE  (24  times),  and  occurs 
twice  elsewhere  in  P'  {2,2^^-  ^7) :  CH.  56^^^. —  Yahweh  comynanded 
-my  lord  .  .  .  and  my  lord  was  commanded  by  Vakweh]  (n^V  "'JHi^  ns 
nin'-a  mv  ^jnxi  .  .  .  mn^)  the  prefixing  of  the  obj.  in  the  first 
clause  and  the  change  to  the  passive  in  the  second  are  both 
strange.  Geiger  {Urschr.  330)  surmised  that  the  original 
form  in  each  case  was.  My  lord  {i.e.  Moses)  commanded,  and 
that  the  present  text  originated  in  a  desire  to  avoid  the  appear- 


478  NUMBERS  XXXVI.  3-13 

ance  that  Moses  gave  commands  on  his  own  account.  In 
itself  the  passive  of  n^y  is  not  open  to  objection  ;  for  even  if 
Geiger  is  right  in  explaining  away  the  punctuation  in  other 
Pentateuchal  passages,  the  instances  in  Ezek.  remain.  Apart 
from  the  doubtful  instance  in  Gn.  45^^,  n^^'  is  confined  to  P  and 
Ezek.  (Ex.  34^^  Lev.  S^^  lo^^  Nu.  3^^,  Ezek.  12^  24^8  3777). 
For  2  in  mn'2  after  the  passive,  cp.  Gn.  9*^,  Dt.  33^^. — 3.  Their 
inheritance  shall  be  withdrawn^  27"^  n. — 4.  Since  the  land 
would  pass  out  of  the  tribe,  not  by  sale,  but  by  inheritance,  it 
would  not  be  affected  by  the  law  of  jubilee  (Lev.  25^^^) ;  it 
would  remain,  it  is  true,  in  the  hands  of  the  descendants  (by 
the  female  line)  of  Selophehad,  but  would  be  permanently 
withdrawn  from  the  tribe  of  Manasseh.  —  5-9.  The  divine 
decision  in  the  particular  case  is  that  Selophehad's  daughters 
must  marry  Manassites  (v.*^),  and,  generally  (v.^),  that  all 
heiresses  must  marry  within  their  father's  tribe,  the  motive 
for  the  particular  decision  (v.'^)  and  the  general  law  (v.^)  being 
the  same,  viz.  to  prevent  the  inheritance  of  the  various  tribes 
from  being  either  diminished  or  increased  by  the  transference 
of  the  portion  of  an  individual  family  from  one  tribe  to  another. 
The  theory  frequently  failed  in  practice  (see  on  32^^"^^). — 5^. 
Cp.  2'f . — 11  f.  In  accordance  with  the  decision,  the  daughters 
of  Selophehad  marry  Manassites  (v. ^2),  and,  indeed  (v.^^),  the 
sons  of  their  paternal  uncles  (Dnnn). — 13.  A  subscription, 
similar  to  that  in  Lev.  27^*,  covering  the  laws  between  22^  and 
36^^.  Though  the  position  of  this  subscription  is  suitable,  that 
of  Lev.  27^^  is  not,  since  further  Sinaitic  laws  follow  in  Nu.  i  if. 
Addis  has  therefore  surmised  that  both  subscriptions  were,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  added  when  the  Pentateuch  was  divided  into 
five  books. 

1.  ncD]  C5  S  +  ^^3^  "iiy'^x  ':sSi;  cp.  27"  and  see  above. — 3.  loui  .  .  .  vm] 
For  this  hypothetical  cstr.,  see  Dr.  §  149. — -,diji]  S  n2Di:i  (^p.  v.''  |^) ;  the 
cstr.  in  MT.  as  with  v^y  below  is  impersonal,  an  addition  shall  he  made. 
In  v.*  ynj'  is  masc.  before  the  fem.  subj. ;  Dav.  1135,  G.-K.  1445. — 5.  dn  — 
when,  is  rare,  especially  with  the  impf.;  BDB.  5oa5. — 11.  The  order  of 
the  names  in  ^  differs  from  that  in  26^^  27^  Jos.  17^ ;  the  order  in  these 
passages  is  preserved  or  restored  by  S  here.  (5^  has  here  yet  another 
order. 


I  ND  EX. 


I.  ENGLISH. 


(See  also  the  Tables  of  Contents,  pp,  xif.  and  xxvi-xxix.) 


Aaron = the  priests,  25,  232. 

representative  of  Levites,  214. 

(doubtfully)    associated    with 

Moses,  xxxvii,  4,  25,  30,  38,  77, 

80,  81,  84,  135,  145. 

sin  of,  271.   See  also  "Moses." 

death  of,  270  fF. 

date  of  death  of,  447. 

rod  of,  2i4fF.,  259,  262. 

'Abarim,  281. 

Abidan,  8. 

Abihail,  30, 

Abihu,  21. 

Abihud,  21. 

Abiram.     See  Dathan, 

'Ax^^Sa/xdx,  282. 

'Axidi^,  464- 

Addar,  454,  456. 

Agag,  366, 

Ahi'ezer,  8. 

Ahihud,  464. 

Ahiman,  141. 

Ahiram,  393. 

"Ai,  281,  282. 

'Ain,  461, 

'Akrabbim,  pass  of,  455  f. 

Alexander  the  Great,  alluded  to? 

379- 
Allegorical  interpretations,  47,  247, 

276.     See  also  Philo,  Augustine, 

Rabbinic. 
Allotment  of  Canaan,  394. 
'Almon-diblathaim,  448. 


Almond  tree,  217. 

Aloes,  363. 

Altar,  the,  the  altars,  xxxii,  28,  35. 

bronze  covering  of,  208. 

'Amalek,  147,  159,  160,  164,  373  ff. 

Amen,  54. 

'Amm,  name  of  god,  327. 

'Ammi'el,  136,  137, 

'Ammihud,  8. 

'Ammihur,  8. 

'Amminadab,  S. 

'Ammishaddai,  S. 

'Ammon,  297,  326. 

Amorites,  147,  14S,  149,  160,  165  f., 

294 ff.,  305,  322. 
'Anab,  143. 
'Anakites,  141,  151. 
Angel  of  Yahweh,  266,  333,  335. 
Anger  of  Yahweh,  16,  81,  204,  213, 

332. 
Ani'am,  392. 
Anointing,  xxxiii,  75. 
'Ar,  286. 
'Arad,  271,  273. 

Aram,  Aram-naharaim,  326,  346. 
'  Arbd-kanphoth,  184. 
Ard,  393. 
Ark,  spontaneous  movement  of,  95, 

96. 

addressed  as  Yahweh,  96. 

different  terms  for,  96,  166. 

wrappings  of,  33. 

Arnon,  283  f.,  286,  295. 
473 


48o 


INDEX 


Aroer,    'Arair,     286,      299,     433, 

435- 
Ashshur,  375  ff. 
'Asmon,  454,  456. 
Asri'el,  392. 
Ass,  speaking-,  312,  334. 

used  for  riding',  326,  ;^2^. 

Assonance  of  names,  1 14. 

Assyria,  376  f.,  379. 

'Ataroth,  433  f. 

Atharim,  273. 

Atonement,  day  of,  404,  411. 

"Atroth-shophan,  435. 

"Attarus,  Mt,  291,  434. 

Augustine's  exegesis,  examples  of, 

121,  247. 
'Azzan,  464. 

Baal-me'on,  382,  433,  437. 

Ba'al-pe'or,  382. 

Baals,  382. 

Balaam,  xliv,  xlviii,  307  ff.,  325,  384. 

poems  of,  XXX,  313. 

character  of,  318,  329,  331. 

in  Rabbinic  literature,  321. 

Balak,  307  fF.,  322. 
Ballad-singers,  xlv,  299,  Addenda. 
Bamoth,  Bamoth-ba'al,  291,  340 f., 

344- 
Ban,  229,  271,  273. 
Barley  meal,  50. 
Bdellium,  105. 
Becher,  392  f, 
Bedawin,  customs  of,    17,   19,  69, 

271,  289. 

early  allusions  to,  268. 

Be'er,  288,  290. 
Be'er-sheba',  454. 
Bela,  314,  324. 
Bene-ja'akan,  447. 
Beon,  429. 
Beor,  314,  324. 
Beth-bamoth,  291. 
Beth-diblathalm,  44S, 
Beth-haram,  433,  435. 
Beth-jeshimoth,  293,  448. 
Beth-nimrah,  433,  435, 
Blessing,  Priests',  71/1. 
formula  of,  347. 


Blood,  shed,  defiles  land,  476. 
Blue  tassel  threads,  183,  185. 
Blue  wrappings  of  ark,  etc.,  34- 
Booty,  distribution  of,  418,  423. 
"  Bread,"  figurative  use  of,  153. 
Bronze,  278. 
Bukki,  463. 

Burning  or  burying  of  holy  or  un- 
clean things,  65,  250. 

Cakes,  67,  106,  177. 
Caleb,  135,  136,  430. 
Camp,  arrangement  of  the,   15 fF., 

27  ff. 
to  be  guarded  from  unclean- 

ness,  40,  127. 
Camps,  round  or  square,  17. 
Canaan,  land  of,  meaning  of  term, 

134- 

chief  products  of,  172. 

Canaanite     customs     among     the 

Hebrew,  183. 
Canaanites,  146  f.,  149,   159  f.,  164, 

273- 
Candlestick,  golden,  77.       ^ 
Cattle  of  Israelites,  alluded  to,  31, 

103,  261,  427. 

in  Gile'ad,  428. 

Cedars,  363. 

Cedar-wood,  247,  250  li 

Censers,  199. 

Chemosh.    See  Kemosh. 

Chislon,  463. 

"Cities,"  139. 

Cloud,  different  conceptions  of  the 

(fiery),  85  ff.,  95  f.,  113,  124,  127, 

18S,  212. 
"  Congregation,"  4  f.,  198,  471, 
"  Contribution,"  (ncnn),  42,  70, 17S, 

223- 
Cojiper,  278. 

Cow,  use  of,  in  lustrations,  246  f. 

Cozbi,  387. 

Cucumbers,  103. 

Curse,  power  of,  54  (cp.  74),  327, 

349- 

form  of,  202. 

Cush,  Cushite,  I2i. 
"  Cut  off,"  37,  84  C 


INDEX 


481 


Dathan  andAbiram,  iS6ff.,  194, 196. 
Dead,  defilement  by  the,  40, 57, 63  f., 

65,  242  ff.,  418,  422. 
Demonologfy,  244  f. 
De'u'el,  8. 
Deuteronomy,     comparisons    with 

legislation   of,    23,    40,   72,    170, 

183,  229 f.,  233 f.,  236  ff,,  410,  414, 

469  ff. 
Dibon  (-g-ad),  305,  433  f.,  448. 
Divination,  355. 
ijolmens,  291. 
Dophkah,  445. 

Drink-offerings.      See  Libations. 
Dues.     See  Levites,  Priests. 
Dust  in  potions,  51. 

East,  mountains, children, of  the,346. 

'Eber,  376,  37Sf. 

Edom,  264  ff.,  371,  455. 

"  Egypt,  river  {ue.  Wady)  of,"  325, 

456- 
Egyptian    deities,    names    of,    in 

Hebrew  names,  9. 

life,  details  of,  104. 

Ehi,  a  corrupt  name,  393. 

Eldad,  114,  463. 

Elders,  109  f.,  188. 

Ele'aleh,  433,  436. 

Ele'azar,   29,   35  f.,   162,   208,   250, 

418,  422. 
Eli'ab,  8. 
Eli'asaph,  8,  28. 
Elisaphan,  28,  3a 
Elishama',  8. 
Elisur,  7. 

'Elyon,  310,  314,  369. 
'En-mishpat,  46. 
Ephah,  50. 
'Eran,  393. 
Esau  and  Edom,  268. 
Eshcol,  134,  141  f. 
'Esion-geber,  442,  447. 
Ethiopian  (?)  wife  of  Moses,  121. 
"  Evenings,  between  the  two,"  83. 
Evi,  420  f. 

Execution,  modes  of,  383. 
"Eye"   in    various    phrases,    1S5, 

201,  327,  335,  361. 


Ezekicl,  affinities  with  the  thought 

of,  xlviii,  18,  155  f.,  203. 
Ezekiel's   legislation,  comparisons 

with,  23,   169  f.,   177,  229,  233 f., 

235.  236  f.,  386,  403.  405  f-.  409. 
410 ff.,  453,465. 

Face  of  Yahweh,  73. 

Family,  clans,  etc.,  terms  for,  4,  9, 

215,  387- 
Fasting,  416. 
Feast  of  Unleavened  Bread,  410. 

of  Weeks,  411. 

of  Booths,  412. 

Feasts,  fixed,  402  ff. 

Fees  to  prophets  and  others,  329. 

Fire  of  Yahweh,  99,  207. 

war,  303. 

on  altar,  213,  222. 

"Fire-offering"    (nfx),     172,     175, 

176,  408. 
Firstborn,  number  of,  13. 

redemption  of,  26,  31,  229  ff. 

priestly  functions  (?)  of,  26. 

sacrifice  (?)  of,  230. 

of  cattle,  31,  229,  231  f. 

Firstlings,first-fruits, i77,225ff.,4i  i. 
Fish,  103. 

Flags  used  in  camps,  19. 
"Forty  Years,"  traditional,  161. 

Gad,  10,  425  ff. 

Gaddi,  136. 

Gaddi'el,  136. 

Gamali'el,  8. 

Garlic,  104. 

Genealogies,  193  f. 

Ger,  82,  175,  181. 

Gershonite  Levites,  27,  38,  75,  92. 

Ge'u'el,  136,  137. 

Giants,  141,  151. 

Gile'ad,  391,  427,  440  f. 

Glory  of  Yahweh,  86,  154,  158,  161, 

188,  203,  212,  261. 
Gods,    beliefs    concerning,    153  f, 

304.  349,  381  f. 

food  of,  408. 

Go  el,  41,  47a 
Gog,  366,  377. 


482 


INDEX 


"  Go  out,  to,  and  come  in,"  400. 
Grammatical  details — 

Article  with  tribal  names,  30. 

Double   n  in  indirect  questions, 

139- 

Imperfect   subordinated   to   pre- 
vious vb.,  330. 

Infinitives,  peculiar,  159,  269,330. 

Infinitival  nouns,  38. 

Infinitive  absolute,  339,  417. 

Indefinite  subject, (?3rdfem.),396. 

Otiose  pronoun,  432. 

Participle  after  -d,  452. 

Looseness  of  style  possibly  due  to 
fusion  of  sources,  208,  327,  431. 

Synonymous  particles  combined, 
66,  123. 

Waw     conversive,    unusual     in- 
stances of,  38,  186,  199. 

See  also  Index  II. 
Grapes,  138 f,  141,  142 f.,  267. 
Greek  Version,  xxxix. 
"Guilt,  to  bear,"  219,  234. 

Habiri,  xli,  142. 

Hair,  treatment  of,  52,  59,  63  f.,  65, 

68  f.,  79. 
Hamath,  entrance  of,  140,  458  f. 
"  Hand,  to  fill  the,"  21. 

" to  lift  up  the,"  162. 

" shortness  of,"  113. 

Hands,  laying-  on  of,  80,  401  f. 

'* to  smite  the,"  367. 

Hanni'el,  463. 

Haradah,  446. 

Hasar-addar,  454,  456. 

Hasar-'enan,  458  f.,  460  f, 

Ha§eroth,  119. 

Hashmonah,  446. 

Hauran,  459. 

Havvoth-ja'ir,  43Sf.,  440. 

"Heart,"  1S5. 

"  Heave  -  offering,"        misleading 

translation.     See  Contribution. 
Hebron,  134,  137,  T41  f.,  15S,  396. 
Hebroni,  396. 
"  Heifer,"  2.jfl. 
Helek,  30?- 
l.Iepher,  39*. 


Herem,  229,  240,  271. 

Heshbon,  295,  298,  302,  433,  436. 

Hesron,  456. 

Hethlon,  459. 

High  places,  450 

Hittites,  147. 

Hobab,  93. 

Hoglah,  392. 

Holiness,  xlix,  16,    18,  27,  35 f.,  51, 

112,  183,  196  f,  198,  209  f. 
"  Holy,  most,"  222. 
Holy  (most  holy)  place,  223. 
Holy  things,  33. 

isolated  or  destroyed,  210. 

virater,  51,  53. 

Hor  the  mountain,  269  f.,  459. 

Hor-hag-gidgad,  447. 

Hori,  136  f, 

Hormah,  165,  167,  271,  273. 

Hur,  420  f. 

Hyssop,  247,  250  f.,  254. 

Idolatrous  objects  to  be  destroyed, 

450- 
t'ezer,  391. 

Individual  and  clan,  190,  203,  471. 
Inscriptions  cited  or  referred  to — 

Assyrian    and    Babylonian,    21, 
95,  106,  121,  147,  325,  354. 

Egyptian,  xli,  140,  142,  147,  148, 
150.  195.  268,  325  f.,  334,  462. 

Moabite,  284,  296,  304,  433. 

Palmyrene,  322. 

Phoenician,  3^2,  37S,  38 2. 

Sabsean,  6. 

of  Tel  el-Amarna,  xli,  142,  147  f., 
149.  326,  342,  440- 

of  Zinjirli,  6. 
Intercession,  power  of,  99,    127  f., 

204. 
Intoxicants,   forbidden   to   certain 

persons,  58 f.,  61  ft 
'Ir-moab,  337. 
Ishvah,  393. 

Ishvi,  a  corrupt  name,  393,  20^ 
Israel,  Yahweh's  son,  108. 
Ithamar,  35,  75,  386. 
'lyye-'abarim,  281,  iSi, 
lyyon,  461. 


INDEX 


48, 


Jabbok,  295  f.,  428. 

Jacob  and  Israel  in  parallelism,  346. 

Jahas,  295,  299. 

Ja'ir,  438  f. 

Jannes  and  Jambres,  321. 

Ja'zer,  297  f.,  427,433,  435. 

Jebusites,  148. 

Jeshimon,  293. 

Jogbehah,  433,  435, 

Jogli,  463- 

John  the  Baptist,  58. 

Joseph,  136. 

Joshua,  99,  115,  135,  136 f.,  401. 

Judah,  pre-eminence  of,  14,  18,  194. 

Juniper,  251. 

Kadesh,  144,  256 ff.,  266,  421,  442, 

447.  454- 

barnea',  430. 

on  the  Orontes,  147-149. 

Karka',  454. 

KdpTTw/ia,  176, 

Kehelathah,  446. 

Kemosh,  xlvi,  304,  382. 

Kenath,  441. 

Kenites,  Kain,  375. 

Kibroth-hatta'avah,  100,  102. 

Kinnereth,  Sea  of,  462. 

Kiryathaim,  338,  433,  436  f. 

Kiryath-husoth,  338,  34a 

Kittim,  378. 

Kohathite  Levites,  28,  32  fF.,  75,  91. 

Korah,   186 fF.,   193,   196,  261,  390, 

396,  398- 
Koran,    referred  to,    63,   246,  322, 

355.  423.  47^ 
Korhi,  396. 

Laban,  318,  321. 

La'el,  28,  30. 

Land  inalienable,  397. 

Lebanon,  458. 

Leeks,  103. 

Lepers,  leprosy,  40,  127. 

Levites  (see  also  Priests). 

institution  of,  21-25. 

purification  and   presentation 

of,  78  ff. 
numbers  of,  11  ff.,  27  ff. 


Levites,  position  of,  in  camp,  15  f., 
19,  27  ff. 

rank  and  rights  of,  186  ff. 

various  functions  of,  27 ff.,  32  ff. 

age  of  service  of,  81. 

clans  of,  395. 

have   no   landed  possessions. 

232  f-,  395,  465- 

the  cities  of,  464  ff. 

dues  payable  to,  233  ff. 

pay  tithe  to  the  priests,  235. 

Libations,  67,  174,  412. 
Libnah,  445  f. 
Libni,  396. 
Lokman,  322,  325. 

Machi,  136,  137. 

Machir,  391,  439,  441. 

Madurah,  Jebel,  270,  455. 

Mahlah,  Mahli,  392,  396. 

Makheloth,  446. 

Manasseh  E.  of  Jordan,  432,  437  ff. 

Manassite  clans,  391. 

Manna,  100,  105. 

Manu,  Laws  of,  referred  to,  44  f., 

62,  244,  254. 
Marriage  with  foreigners,  122,  380. 

levirate,  398. 

Massah,  25Sf. 

Mattanah,  290. 

Meal-offerings   of  memorial,  45  f., 

51. 
quantities  and    occasions   of, 

67,  169,  406. 
Medad,  114. 
Medeba,  305. 
Mediterranean  Sea,  names  of,  149, 

457- 
Melons,  103. 
Menstruation,    separation    at,    40 

(cp.25s). 
Merarite  Levites,  29,  38,  75,  92. 
Meribah,  46,  258  f.,  263. 
Messianic  interpretations,3 1 4, 365  f, 

370,  372. 
Micha'el,  136. 
Midian,    Midianites,    93,    323,    384, 

417  ff- 
Midrash,  182,  20S,  320,  418, 


484 


INDEX 


Milcah,  392. 

"Milk  and  honey,"  145,  201. 
Miriam,  99,  120 fF.,  260,  396. 
Moab,  varying  extent  of,  284,  297  f., 

322,  337,  433- 

steppes  of,  306. 

and  Israel,  307  ff. 

Monarchy,    allusions    to    Hebrew, 

353,  363,  366,  369  f- 
Moseroth,  447. 
Moses,     passages    attributed    to, 

xxviii,  444. 

character  of,  xlvii. 

sin  of,  258,  261  f.,  263,  400. 

rod  of,  258,  262. 

Mount  of  Yahweh,  95. 
Mountains,  graves  on,  271. 
Muppim,  a  corrupt  name,  393. 
Murder  and  manslaughter,  469. 
Mushi,  396. 
Musur,  457. 

Na'aman,  393. 

Nahali'el,  290,  292. 

Nahshon,  7  f. 

"  Name,"  meanings  of,  5,  196. 

Name,  power  of,  74. 

Names,  abbreviated  geographical, 

2S8,  437,  446. 
significance  of  geographical, 

440-. 
Nazirite,  56  ff. 
Nebo,  433,  436. 
Negeb,  137,  146. 
Nemu'el,  390. 
Nephilim,  151. 
Nethan'el,  8. 
New  moons,  404,  410. 
Night,  revelations  by,  312,  329  f. 
Nimrah,  435. 
No'ah,  392. 
Nobah,  441. 
"Nursing-father,"  108. 

Oaths,  158,  162. 

of  purgation,  44  ff.,  Addendn. 

Offering,  claims  to  the  right  of,  190. 
Offerings,  festal  character  of  early, 

237, 381,  vn. 


Offerings  regulated,  169  ff.,  402  ff. 

of  the  Nazirite,  66,  67  f. 

of  jealousy,  50. 

at    the    presentation    of    the 

Levites,  80. 

for  sins  of  ignorance,  178  ff. 

periodic  public,  402  ff. 

'Og,  149.  306,  322,  366,  377- 

Oil   used   with  meal-offerings,  50, 

169,  171,  406. 
On  b.  Peleth,  190,  194. 
Onions,  103. 

Ordeals,  43  ff.,  196,  Addenda. 
Ox,  wild,  354. 
Ozni,  391. 

Pagi'el,  8. 

Palti,  136. 

Palti'el,  464. 

Paran,  Wilderness  of,  91,  443,  447. 

Paranomasia,  220,  263,  376. 

Paraphrastic  renderings  in  ver- 
sions, 95,  155,  163. 

Parnach,  464. 

Passover,  supplementary,  82  ff. 

Peace-offerings,  22^' 

Pedah'el,  464. 

Pedahsur,  8. 

Peleth,  195. 

Peor,  340,  358,  382. 

Personification  of  nations,  265,  37a 

Pethor,  325,  327. 

Philo's  exegesis,  examples  of,  47, 
50  f,  52,  69,  247,  276,  321. 

Phinehas,  3S4ff.,  417  ff. 

Pi-ha-hiroth,  445. 

Pisgah,  292,  340,  358. 

Pomegranates,  143. 

Population  of  Canaan,  12. 

of  Sinaitic  peninsula,  12. 

Potions,  44,  48,  54  f. 

Priest,  High,  208,  271,  474  f. 

Priests,  dues  payable  to  Levites 
and,  41,  221  f.,  236  f.,  424. 

as  landowners,  465. 

blessing  of,  71  ff. 

Pe's  theory  of  Aaronic,  22  f., 

386.         • 

superiority  of,  to  Levites,  79. 


INDEX 


485 


Priests,  strugfg-les  between  Levites 

and,  193. 
Prophets,  prophecy,  xlviii,  99,  113, 

122,  125,  206,  317,  320,  329,  362. 
Propitiation,  propitiatory  rites,  42, 

81,  181,  213. 
Punishment    resembling;'    the    sin, 

53  f-.  213- 
not  necessarily  inflicted  on  the 

offender,  383,  471. 
Punon,  Pinon,  448. 
Purple  wrappings  for  holy  things, 

34- 

Quails,  100,  117,  119. 
Quantities  of  offerings  regulated, 
57,  67,  169,  402  ff. 

Rabbath- Ammon,  297,  333,  433. 
Rabbinic  exegesis,  77,  85,  122,  143, 

249,  287,  294,  321,  367. 
Reba',  420  f. 
Red  cow,  242  ff. ,  248. 
Red,  significance  of,  247  f. 

wrappings  for  holy  things,  34. 

Registration,  114. 
Rehob,  140. 
Rekem,  420  f. 
Reubenites,  revolt  of,  189  f. 

?  W.  of  Jordan,  195. 

E.  of  Jordan,  425  ff. 

Re  u'el,  8. 

Revelation,  4,  123,  125,  361, 

Riblah,  140,  461. 

Rimmon,  143,  446. 

Rings,  424, 

Rissah,  446. 

Rithmah,  445. 

Roads,  267. 

Rosh  (Gn.  46^^),  a  corrupt  name,  393. 

Sabbath-breaking,  182. 

offering,  409,  412. 

Sacrificial    custom    and   procedure 

(see  Offering),  50,  66  f.,  69, 
Sa'ideh,  Sell,  286. 
Salmonah,  448. 
"  Salt,  covenant  of,"  233. 
Salt  Sea,  455. 


Salt  with  offerings,  171. 
Salu,  386, 

Samaritan  text  of  Numbers, xxxviii. 
Samson,  59. 
"Sanctuary,"  220,  409. 
Satan,  333. 

Sebam,  Sibmah,  431,  433,  437. 
Sedad,  459. 
Se'ir,  268,  372. 

Seleucid   empire,    supposed    refer- 
ence to,  376. 
Selophehad,   192,  392,   396 ff.,  399, 

477- 
"Servant,    my"    (Yahweh's),    125, 

159- 
"  Servant,  thy,"  paraphrastic  use, 

107. 
Seven,  342,  406. 
Shaddai,  6,  361. 

"Shadow,"  figurative  use  of,  153. 
Sham'al,  379. 
Shammua',  i36f. 
Shaphat,  136. 
Shechem,  391. 
Shede'ur,  7. 
Shelumi'el,  7,  463. 
Shemida',  392. 
She'ol,  206. 
Shephupham,  393. 
Sheshai,  141. 
Shittim,  381. 
Sihon,  149,  295,  301. 
Sin,  ideas  of,  41,  65  f..  Si,  15S,  203, 

205,  209,  398,  431. 
of  ignorance,  propitiation  for, 

i78ff. 
Sin-offering,  68. 

Sin,    wilderness   of,   139,  259,  447, 
■  456  f. 
Sinai,  wilderness  of,  3,  443. 

site  of,  94. 

Sippor,  Sipporah,  322. 

So'an,  142. 

Sodi,  136. 

"Son  of  man,"  351,  357. 

Sophim,  Field  of,  340,  350. 

"Soul,"  various  meanings  of,  41  f., 

104,  277. 
Spirit,  110,  ii3ff.,  401. 


486 


INDEX 


Spirit  of  God,  359. 

of  jealousy,  50. 

"Star,"  metaphorical  use  of,  369. 

Stick,  2x5. 

Stoning,  I54f.,  1S2. 

"  Stranger  "  =  n?,  16,  220. 

=nj.     See  Ger. 

Suphah,  285,  287. 
Sur,  421. 
Suri'el,  29  f. 
Surishaddai,  7, 
Susi,  136. 

Tab'erah,  99,  loa. 

Tahath,  446. 

Tallith,  184. 

Talmai,  141,  143. 

Tassels,  183. 

"  Ten  times,"  158. 

Tent  of  meeting,  3. 

distinguished  trom  tabernacle, 

86. 
central  in   P,  not  in  E,   17 f., 

114,  124,  166. 
Terah,  446. 

"  Testimony,  the,'  216. 
Tirsah,  392. 
Tithe,  228,  233  fT. 

second,  228,  234. 

To-morrow,  term  set  for  commands, 

etc.,  112. 
Trees  sprung  from  dry  sticks,  217. 
Tribes,  order  of  mention,  10,  18. 
Trumpets,  the,  87  ff. 
day  of  blowing  of,  411. 

Uncleanness,  unclean  persons,  40  f., 

241  ff.,  422. 
"  Unicorns,"  354. 
'Uzzi'el,  30. 

Vale,  valley,  159  f. 
Vine,  taboo  on,  62  f. 
Vinegar,  62. 
Vophsi,  136  f. 
Vows,  58,  60,  71,  413  ff. 

Wady  el-Abyad,  454. 
el-Ahs.l,  28  r,  283. 


Wady  Ayfin  Mfisa,  291,  292  f. 

Fikreh,  266,  270,  454  f. 

Marra,  454. 

Mi§r(a)im     (el  -'Arish),      45  \, 

456- 

Mojib,  284,  286. 

Waleh,  284. 

Zerka  Ma'in,  291, 

Waheb,  285,  287. 

Wanderings,  differently  regarded 

161,  163. 
War,  sacred,  285. 
Water  of  sin,  79,  252. 

impurity,  241  ff.,  252,  253. 

bitterness,  52,  246. 

metaphor  for  prosperity,  364. 

"Wave-breast,"  70,  223. 

Waving,  ritual,  55,  80,  224. 

Wells,  288-290. 

"Whoredom,"  163,  185. 

Wind  working  Yahweh's  purposes, 

Wine,  taboo  to  Nazirites,  59,  62  f. 

as  a  sacred  offering,  67,  171, 

174,  409. 

offered  with  animal  offerings, 

169,  171  f.,  406. 

Women  classified  as  to  age  and 
state,  415. 

separation  of  unclean,  40. 

subjected  to  ordeal,  43  ff. 

their    limited    rights   to   holy 

things,  221, 

allowed  to  inherit,  397. 

if  heiresses  must  marry  with- 
in the  clan,  477. 

might  become  Nazirites,  61. 

regulations  for  vows  of,  413. 

Word,  independence  of  spoken, 
415- 

Yahweh,  various  conceptions  of, 
xlvi,  xlix,  96,  155,  157,  166,  203, 
316,  3r8,  351  f.,  381,  397. 

visibility  of,  126. 

battles  of,  284,  431. 

■ king  of  Israel,  353. 

His  presence   in    Israel,    197, 

354« 


INDEX 


487 


Yahwisttc  religion,  modifying  in- 
fluence of,  47  f.,  63,  69,  183  f., 
185,  243,  275  f.,  410. 

Yam  Suph,  160. 

Yarmuk,  42S. 

Yashar,  Book  of  the,  284,  347. 

Zaccur,  136,  137. 
Zelophehad.     See  Selophehad. 


Zendavesta,  cited,  244,  246,  254. 
Zered,  283. 
Zimri,  386. 
Ziphron,  459. 
Zoan.     See  So'an. 
Zippor.     See  Sippor. 
Zophim.     See  Sophim. 
Zuriel.     See  Suri'el. 
Zurishaddai.     See  Suri-shaddai. 


(♦LmaJL-I  355. 

'3  mK,  256, 
tVO  S.IN,  3. 
niN,  460. 

n"?.  353- 

'3  (b"n)  b-'n,  43,  52. 

^x,  use  of,  128,  203. 

'JB  'jlO  ^H,  78. 

nisN,  387. 
qoaoK,  102,  104. 

■13N,  414,  417. 

t=5¥.  350. 

'7:ix,  (vb.)  112. 

mi'i'N,  424. 

nB*h!,  286  f. 

nf  X.     See  Fire-offering. 

C9'K,  42,  222. 

2,  uses  of,    112,    122,    159. 

nM22  puberiy,  415, 
ni3.  181. 
3Nn'3,  4f.,  3S7. 
D"n33,  225  ff. 

n  Dv,  411. 
S1V3,  176. 
nic3,  304,  450. 
ni2  rebuild,  302,  434. 
'TD  ':3,  217. 
rys,  261,  264- 
mvmz,  92. 
nn3,  "iDri,  181. 
navz,  181. 


II.  HEBREW. 

(Supplemental  to  Index  I.) 
^13J,  269. 


11J,  181. 

»",  119. 

MJ,  218. 

N'J  (?  fern.),  294. 

rhypi  individual,  5. 

n3i,  151  f. 

3  131.   120,  122. 

'?J'3,  20. 

^^^  ?  /<?  march,  369. 

nin,  402. 

i'pi'^,  383- 
B-nin,  156,  431. 

N'Jn,  416,  430. 

pon,  336. 
'js'?  TDj/rt,  25. 

•■'V'7,  393- 

mpn,  469. 

Ncnnn    to    unsin    oneself,    81,   422, 

423- 
nV'nn,  9. 

Kwnn,  198. 

njjsnn,  10. 

"[,  uses  of,  38,  264,  45?, 

"3I>  173- 

it,  62,  64. 

ni  (enclitic),  139. 

CVT,  348. 
Kl».   113, 


488 


INDEX 


riNBn,  252. 

^'[•},  177^ 

n>0,  235. 

f'jn  (Niphal  or  Hiphil  ?),  421. 

n|:q  dedication-gift,  76  f, 

pn,  222. 

•?  mn,  202. 

fiinn,  62,  64. 

D's'ri,  432. 

inn,  97. 

m'D,  17,  421. 
^a,  421. 

"pxx;!,  116. 

T,  various  meanings  of,  150,  378. 
See  also  "  Hand." 

D.Tl,   150. 

p:j;n  n'"?',  141. 

t^T,  337. 

-T,  euphemistic  use  of,  54. 

^■"^i;.  373- 
nB'x  B",  87. 

TOIS,  424. 
'=,   336. 

cnpn  '^3,  420. 
•133  corner,  184. 
'103  (noun),  37, 

nx?,  356. 

123,  476. 

S  uses  of,  30,  43,  77,  218,  252. 

-rh  (Kal  or  Piel  ?),  324. 

en'' food,  408. 

TDnn  en"?,  35. 

pVorjiS?,  153,  218. 

IB''?,  106. 

nxD  ow  the  part  of,  25. 
Ni;3D,  416. 
E'lJO,  467  f, 

^10,  371  143- 

f,Dia  additional  {offering),  409. 

nns,  462. 

.T^3,  4f.,  6,  215,  219, 

D3D,  425. 

nnx  iiba,  159. 

nyan  dn'td,  227,  235. 


JO,  various  uses  of,  231,  37S. 
nnjD,  differently  used  in  J  E  and  P. 
201. 

in3in  nn:a,  46. 
TDn.i  nmo,  36,  408, 
^Jsa,  88. 

HDD,  421,  423. 

"^yo.  52- 

'?yp,  216,  385. 

D'VO  womb,  54. 

cipo,  gi. 

DipD  district,  country,  273. 

o'jpD,  470. 

nv3B'C,  450,  452. 

nnm  portion,  233. 

pE'D,  204. 

'?^3,  D'^Y^c^-  299,  344- 
moc'a,  221. 
Sirrc,  336. 
nnsra,  4  f. 
c'Bsro,  475. 
n'l;;'.';',  64. 

N3,   128,   201. 

DN^,   162,  361,  365, 

q::,  81. 

yn:i:,  84. 

tt:,  61. 

'?m,  363,  464. 

D.3,  278,  390. 

Dny^,  m-ip,  415. 

^'^^,  39.  75.  135- 

nSn,  i;o. 

SrD(JE)  =  c:i(P),  155. 

r=7=  ^,  8,  282. 

ly  against,  92. 

n:N  ny,  159. 

my.     See  Congregation, 

iiy,  31- 

'ly  and  Tiy,  in  proper  names,  3a 
hv,  uses  of,  loS,  412. 
nnx  "jy,  123. 
na-i  Sy,  3S7. 

'T  ''!'>  455- 

Dy  kifisvian,  8,  iSi,  270,  325. 

W   I23f. 


INDEX 


489 


hty,  167. 
nionj;,  177. 
1"-"^V,  53. 

•■'??.  371,  455.  467. 
■ijs,  162. 
ms,  231,  233. 
C'ln?,  Dins,  31!. 
ia£3,  moe,  81. 

"?!??,  30.  37- 

ms,  216. 

fc""!?,  253. 

CTfl  /o  explain,  182. 

3X,  76. 

K3S,  36. 

n3S,  54. 

ms,  use  of  Pual  of,  30,  477. 

■lis,  in  proper  names,  6. 

D's,  378. 

{"s,  217. 

ns's,  184. 

^s.  153,  155.  399. 
c^?,  450- 
TDS,  256,  424. 

crjs,  452. 

n?i?.  385- 

r^p^,  Q-trnp,  D'inp.n  cip,  33,  35,  43, 

220. 

Sap,  89,  324. 

rp<  323- 
I'P,  468. 
^^%  277. 

cop,  329,  355.  420. 

•"'?i7,  269,  342. 

3"ip,  technical  use  of,  199. 

p-ip,  172,  199,  201,  223,  407 


3  nxn,  109. 

°!<1>  354-_ 

ts'xn,  various  meanings  of,  5,  42. 

nxw,  225  ff.,  374, 

c",  155- 
nn'3  nn,  1 73  f. 
ncn,  3S5. 

"Tv'.  292,  333* 
noiy,  52. 

C'9^,  452. 
ns-ie',  208. 

^^B*,  6,  37,  219. 

"'3^,  305. 

in3B'3  n3c',  412. 

n;ir,  doubtful  use  of,  181. 

entr,  159. 

O'ltSC*,   I  10. 

ns!?',  61,  409. 
D^hv  welfare,  73. 
D'jsn  jnW,  35. 

'SJE*,  343  f. 

m:^,  25. 

pvncnB>,  361,  366. 

n.NH,  460. 

nxnn,  227. 

"i2i'in,  355,  357. 

TIN  sin,  457. 

■i^n,  137.  '85. 

sunn,  472. 

rnn,  34. 

HNun,  163. 

.nsun,  80,  223  f. 

rnin,  430. 

nonn,  225  ff.     See  Contribution. 

nynn,  37.  88 f.,  4"- 


'ghz  fnUxnutioMitX  ^viticvd  ^ommtxituxvi. 


"A  decided  advayice  07i  all  other  commentaries.''''  —  The  Outlook. 


DEUTERONOMY. 

By  the  Rev.  S.  R.  DRIVER,  D.D„  D.Litt., 

Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew,  and  Canon  of  Christ  Church,  Oxfori 


Crown  8vo.    Net,  $3.00. 


"No  one  could  be  better  qualified  than  Professor  Driver  to  write  a  critical 
and  exegetical  commentary  on  Deuteronomy.  His  previous  works  are  author- 
ities in  all  the  departments  involved;  the  grammar  and  lexicon  of  the  Hebrew 
language,  the  lower  and  higher  criticism,  as  well  as  exegesis  and  Biblical  the- 
ology; .  .  .  the  interpretation  in  this  commentary  is  careful  and  sober  in  the 
main.  A  wealth  of  historical,  geographical,  and  philological  information  illus- 
trates and  elucidates  both  the  narrative  and  the  discourses.  Valuable,  though 
concise,  excursuses  are  often  given."  —  The  Congregatioualist. 

"  It  is  a  pleasure  to  see  at  last  a  really  critical  Old  Testament  commentary 
in  English  upon  a  portion  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  especially  one  of  such  merit. 
This  I  find  superior  to  any  other  Commentary  in  any  language  upon  Deuter- 
onomy." —  Professor  E.  L.  Curtis,  of  Yale  University. 

"  This  volume  of  Professor  Driver's  is  marked  by  his  well-known  care  and 
accuracy,  and  it  will  be  a  great  boon  to  every  one  who  wishes  to  acquire  a 
thorough  knowledge,  either  of  the  Hebrew  language,  or  of  the  contents  of  the 
Book  of  Deuteronomy,  and  their  significance  for  the  development  of  Old  Tes- 
tament thought.  The  author  finds  scope  for  displaying  his  well-known  wide 
and  accurate  knowledge,  and  dehcate  appreciation  of  the  genius  of  the 
Hebrew  language,  and  his  readers  are  supplied  with  many  carefully  con- 
structed lists  of  words  and  expressions.  He  is  at  his  best  in  the  detailed 
examination  of  the  text." — I.ondoK  AthencBum. 

"  It  must  be  said  that  this  work  is  bound  to  take  rank  among  the  best  com- 
mentaries in  any  language  on  the  important  book  with  which  it  deals.  On 
every  page  there  is  abundant  evidence  of  a  scholarly  knowledge  of  the  litera- 
ture, and  of  the  most  painstaking  care  to  make  the  book  useful  to  thorough 
students." —  The  Ltitheran  Churchman. 

"The  deep  and  difficult  questions  raised  by  Deuteronomy  are,  in  every  in- 
stance, considered  with  care,  insight,  and  critical  acumen.  The  student  who 
wishes  for  solid  information,  or  a  knowledge  of  method  and  temper  of  the 
new  criticism,  will  find  advantage  in  consultine  the  pages  of  Dr.  Driver."  — 
?ion's  Herald. 


**fVe  believe  this  series  to  be  of  epoch-making  importance^ 

—  The  N.  Y.  Evangelist. 

JUDGES. 

By  Dr.  GEORGE  FOOT  MOORE,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Theology,   Harvard  University. 


Crown  8vo.    Net,  $3.00. 


"The  typographical  execution  of  this  handsome  volume  is  worthy  of  the 
scholarly  character  of  the  contents,  and  higher  praise  could  not  be  given  it." 
—  Professor  C.  H.  Toy,  of  Harvard  University. 

"  This  work  represents  the  latest  results  of  '  Scientific  Biblical  Scholarship,' 
and  as  such  has  the  greatest  value  for  the  purely  critical  student,  especially  on 
the  side  of  textual  and  literary  criticism."  —  TAe  Church  Standard. 

"  Professor  Moore  has  more  than  sustained  his  scholarly  reputation  in  this 
work,  which  gives  us  for  the  first  time  in  English  a  commentary  on  Judges  not 
excelled,  if  indeed  equalled,  in  any  language  of  the  world."  —  Professor 
L.  \V.  Batten,  o/P.  E.  Divinity  School,  Philadelphia. 

"  Although  a  critical  commentary,  this  work  has  i.s  practical  uses,  and  by 
its  divisions,  headlines,  etc.,  it  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  wants  of  all 
thoughtful  students  of  the  Scriptures.  Indeed,  with  the  other  books  of  the 
series,  it  is  sure  to  find  its  way  into  the  hands  of  pastors  and  scholarly  lay- 
men." —  Portland  Zion's  Herald. 

"  Like  its  predecessors,  this  volume  will  be  warmly  welcomed  —  whilst  to 
those  whose  means  of  securing  up-to-date  information  on  the  subject  of  which 
it  treats  are  limited,  it  is  simply  invaluable."  —  Edinburgh  Scotsman. 

"  The  work  is  done  in  an  atmosphere  of  scholarly  interest  and  indifference 
to  dogmatism  and  controversy,  which  is  at  least  refreshing.  ...  It  is  a  noble 
introduction  to  the  moral  forces,  ideas,  and  influences  that  controlled  th«* 
period  of  the  Judges,  and  a  model  of  what  a  historical  commentary,  with  a 
practical  end  in  view  should  be,"  —  The  Independent. 

"The  work  is  marked  by  a  clear  and  forcible  st)'le,  by  scholarly  research,  by 
critical  acumen,  by  extensive  reading,  and  by  evident  familiarity  with  the 
Hebrew.  Many  of  the  comments  and  suggestions  are  valuable,  while  the 
index  at  the  close  is  serviceable  and  satisfactory."  —  Philadelphia  Presbyterian. 

"  This  volume  sustains  the  reputation  of  the  series  for  accurate  and  wide 
scholarship  given  in  clear  and  strong  English,  .  .  .  the  scholarly  reader  will 
find  delight  in  the  perusal  of  this  admirable  commentary,"  —  Zion's  Herald. 


"  We  deem  it  as  fieedfulfor  the  studious  pastor  to  possess  himself 
of  these  volumes  as  to  obtain  the  best  dictionary  and  encyclopedia." 

— The  Congregationalist. 


ST.  MARK. 


By  the  Rev.  E.  P.  GOULD,  D.D., 

Late  Professor  of  New  Testament  Exegesis,  P.  E.  Divinity  School,  Philadelphia, 


Crown  8vo.    Net,  $2.50. 


"  tu  point  of  scholarship,  of  accuracy,  of  originality,  this  last  addition  to  tiic 
series  is  worthy  of  its  predecessors,  while  for  terseness  and  keenness  of  exegesis, 
we  should  put  it  first  of  them  all."  —  The  Congregationalist. 

"The  whole  make-up  is  that  of  a  thoroughly  helpful,  instructive  critical 
etudy  of  the  Word,  surpassing  anything  of  the  kind  ever  attempted  in  the 
English  language,  and  to  students  and  clergymen  knowing  the  proper  use  of 
a  commentary  it  will  prove  an  invaludble  aid."  —  The  Lutheran  Quarterly. 

"  Professor  Gould  has  done  his  work  well  and  thoroughly.  .  .  .  The  com- 
mentary is  an  admirable  example  of  the  critical  method  at  its  best.  .  .  .  The 
Word  study  .  .  .  shows  not  only  familiarity  with  all  the  literature  of  the  sub- 
ject, but  patient,  faithful,  and  independent  investigation.  ...  It  will  rank 
among  the  best,  as  it  is  the  latest  commentary  on  this  basal  Gospel."  —  The 
Christian  Intelligencer. 

"  It  will  give  the  student  the  vigorously  expressed  thought  of  a  very  thought- 
ful scholar."  —  The  Church  Standard. 

"Dr.  Gould's  commentary  on  Mark  is  a  large  success,  .  .  .  and  a  credit  to 
American  scholarship.  .  .  .  He  has  undoubtedly  given  us  a  commentary  on 
Mark  which  surpasses  all  others,  a  thing  we  have  reason  to  expect  will  be  true 
in  the  case  of  every  volume  of  the  series  to  which  it  belongs."  —  The  Biblical 
World. 

"The  volume  is  characterized  by  extensive  learning,  patient  attention  to 
details  and  a  fair  degree  of  caution."  —  Bibliotheca  Sacra. 

"  The  exegetical  portion  of  the  book  is  simple  in  arrangement,  admirable 
in  form  and  condensed  in  statement.  .  .  .  Dr.  Gould  does  not  slavishly  follow 
any  authority,  but  expresses  his  own  opinions  in  language  both  concise  and 
clear."  —  The  Chicago  Standard. 

"  In  clear,  forcible  and  elegant  language  the  author  furnishes  the  results  of 
the  best  investigations  on  the  second  Gospel,  both  early  and  late.  He  treats 
these  various  subjects  with  the  hand  of  a  master."  —  Boston  Zion^s  Herald. 

"  The  author  gives  abundant  evidence  of  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
facts  and  history  in  the  case.  .  .  .  His  treatment  of  them  is  always  fresh  and 
scholarly,  and  oftentimes  helpful."  —  2'Ae  New.  York  Observer. 


"//  t's  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  this  series  will  stand  first 
among  all  English  serial  commentaries  on  the  Bible ^ 

—  The  Biblical  World. 


ST.  LUKE. 


By  the  Rev.  ALFRED  PLUnflER,  D.D., 

Master  of  University  College,  Durham.     Formerly  Fellow  and  Senior  Tutor  of 
Trinity  College,  Oxford. 


Crown  8vo.    Net,  $3.00. 


In  the  author's  Critical  Introduction  to  the  Commentary  is  contained  a  full 
-n-eatment  of  a  large  number  of  important  topics  connected  with  the  study  of 
*he  Gospel,  among  which  are  the  following:  The  Author  of  the  Book  —  The 
Sources  of  the  Gospel  —  Object  and  Plan  of  the  Gospel  —  Characteristics, 
Style  and  Language  —  The  Integrity  of  the  Gospel  —  The  Text  —  Literary 
History. 

FROM  THE  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 

If  this  Commentary  has  any  special  features,  they  will  perhaps  be  found  in 
<he  illustrations  from  Jewish  writings,  in  the  abundance  of  references  to  the 
Septuagint,  and  to  the  Acts  and  other  books  of  the  New  Testament,  in  the 
frequent  quotations  of  renderings  in  the  Latin  versions,  and  in  the  attention 
which  has  been  paid,  both  in  the  Introduction  and  throughout  the  Notes,  to 
the  marks  of  St.  Luke's  style. 

"It  is  distinguished  throughout  by  learning,  sobriety  of  judgment,  and 
sound  exegesis.  It  is  a  weighty  contribution  to  the  interpretation  of  the 
Third  Gospel,  and  will  take  an  honorable  place  in  the  series  of  which  it  forms 
11  part."  —  Prof.  D.  D.  Salmond,  in  the  Critical  Review. 

"  We  are  pleased  with  the  thoroughness  and  scientific  accuracy  of  the  inter- 
pretations. ...  It  seems  to  us  that  the  prevailing  characteristic  of  the  book 
is  common  sense,  fortified  by  learning  and  piety."  —  The  Hei-ald  and  Presbyter. 

"An  important  work,  which  no  student  of  the  Word  of  God  can  safely 
yieglect." —  The  Church  Standard. 

"The  author  has  both  the  scholar's  knowledge  and  the  scholar's  spirit 
.accessary  for  the  preparation  of  such  a  commentary.  .  .  .  We  know  of 
lothing  on  the  Third  Gospel  which  more  thoroughly  meets  the  wants  of  the 
Biblical  scholar." —  The  Outlook. 

"  The  author  is  not  only  a  profound  scholar,  but  a  chastened  and  reverent 
Christian,  who  undertakes  to  interpret  a  Gospel  of  Christ,  so  as  to  show 
tlhrist  in  his  grandeur  and  loveliness  of  character."  —  The  Southern  Church- 
man. 

"  It  is  a  valuable  and  welcome  addition  to  our  somewhat  scanty  stock  of 
first-class  commentaries  on  the  Third  Gospel.  By  its  scholarly  thoroughness 
it  well  sustains  the  reputation  whidri  the  International  Series  has  already 
won."  —  Prof.  J.  H.  Thayer,  of  Harvard  University. 

This  volume  having  been  so  recently  published,  further  notices  are  not  y el 
ivailab^e. 


"For  the  student  this  new  cortitnentary promises  to  be  indispen.' 
sable"  —  The  Methodist  Recorder. 


ROMANS. 


By  the  Rev.  WILLIAM   SANDAY,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Lady  Margaret  Professor  of  Divinity,  and  Canon  of  Christ  Church,  Oxtord, 

AND  THE 

Rev.  A.  C.  HEADLAH,  M.A., 

Fellow  of  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford. 


Crown  8vo.    Net,  $3.00. 


"  From  my  knowledge  of  Dr.  Sanday,  and  from  a  brief  examination  of  the 
book,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  it  is  our  best  critical  handbook  to  the  Epistle. 
It  combines  great  learning  with  practical  and  suggestive  interpretation."  — 
Professor  George  B.  Stevens,  of  Yale  University. 

"  Professor  Sanday  is  excellent  in  scholarship,  and  of  unsurpassed  candor. 
The  introduction  and  detached  notes  are  highly  interesting  and  instructive. 
This  commentary  cannot  fail  to  render  the  most  valuable  assistance  to  all 
earnest  students.  The  volume  augurs  well  for  the  series  of  which  it  is  a  mem- 
ber."—  Professor  George  P.  Fisher,  of  Yale  University. 

"The  scholarship  and  spirit  of  Dr.  Sanday  give  assurance  of  an  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  which  will  be  both  scholarly  and  spiritual." 
—  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott. 

"  The  work  of  the  authors  has  been  carefully  done,  and  will  prove  an 
acceptable  addition  to  the  literature  of  the  great  Epistle.  The  exegesis  is 
acute  and  learned  .  .  .  The  authors  show  much  familiarity  with  the  work 
of  their  predecessors,  and  write  with  calmness  and  lucidity."  —  New  York 
Observer. 

"  We  are  confident  that  this  commentary  will  find  a  place  in  every  thought- 
ful minister's  library.  One  may  not  be  able  to  agree  with  the  authors  at  some 
points,  —  and  this  is  true  of  all  commentaries,  —  but  they  have  given  us  a  work 
which  cannot  but  prove  valuable  to  the  critical  study  of  Paul's  masterly  epis- 
tle." —  Zion's  Advocate. 

"  We  do  not  hesitate  to  commend  this  as  the  best  commentary  on  Romans 
yet  written  in  English.  It  will  do  much  to  popularize  this  admirable  and 
much  needed  series,  by  showing  that  it  is  possible  to  be  critical  and  scholarly 
and  at  the  same  time  devout  and  spiritual,  and  intelligible  to  plain  Bible 
ifeaders."  —  The  Church  Standard. 

"A  commentary  with  a  very  distinct  character  and  purpose  of  its  own, 
which  brings  to  students  and  ministers  an  aid  which  they  cannot  obtain  else- 
where. .  .  .  There  is  probably  no  other  commentary  in  which  criticism  has 
been  employed  so  successfully  and  impartially  to  bring  out  the  author's 
thought."  —  N,  Y.  Independent. 

"We  have  nothing  but  heartiest  praise  for  the  weightier  matters  of  the 
commentary.  It  is  not  only  critical,  but  exegetical,  expository,  doctrinal, 
practical,  and  eminently  spiritual.  The  positive  conclusions  of  the  books  are 
very  numerous  and  are  stoutly,  gloriously  evangelical.  .  .  .  The  commentary 
does  not  fail  to  speak  with  the  utmost  revereace  of  the  whole  word  of  God." 
The  CongregationalisI 


glue  %nUxnntxonnl  Critical  OTommjentarg. 


"This  admirable  series" — The  London  Academy. 


EPHESIANS  AND  COLOSSIANS. 

By  the  Rev.  T.  K.  ABBOTT,  B.D.,  D.  Litt. 

Formerly  Professor  of  Biblical  Greek,  now  of  Hebrew,  Trinity  College, 

Dublin. 


Crown  8vo.    Net,  $2.50. 


"  The  latest  volume  of  this  admirable  series  is  informed  with  the  very 
best  spirit  in  which  such  work  can  be  carried  out — a  spirit  of  absolute 
fidelity  to  the  demonstrable  truths  of  critical  science.  .  .  .  This  summary 
of  the  results  of  modern  criticism  applied  to  these  two  Pauline  letters  is, 
for  the  use  of  scholarly  students,  not  likely  to  be  superseded." — The  Lon- 
don Academy. 

"An  able  and  independent  piece  of  exegesis,  and  one  that  none  of  us  can 
afford  to  be  without.  It  is  the  work  of  a  man  who  has  made  himself  mas- 
ter of  his  theme.  His  linguistic  ability  is  manifest.  His  style  is  usually 
clear.  His  exegetical  perceptions  are  keen,  and  we  are  especially  grateful 
for  his  strong  defence  of  the  integrity  and  apostolicity  of  these  two  great 
monuments  of  Pauline  teaching." — The  Expositor. 

"It  displays  every  mark  of  conscientious  judgment,  wide  reading,  and 
grammatical  insight. " — Literature. 

"  In  discrimination,  learning,  and  candor,  it  is  the  peer  of  the  other  vol- 
umes of  the  series.  The  elaborate  introductions  are  of  special  value." — 
Professor  George  B.  Stevens,  of  Yale  University. 

"It  is  rich  in  philological  material,  clearly  arranged,  and  judiciously 
handled.  The  studies  of  words  are  uncommonly  good.  ...  In  the 
balancing  of  opinions,  in  the  distinguishing  between  fine  shades  of  mean- 
ing, it  is  both  acute  and  sound." — The  Church. 

"  The  exegesis  based  so  solidly  on  the  rock  foundation  of  philology  is 
argumentatively  and  convincingly  strong.  A  spiritual  and  evangelical  tenor 
pervades  the  interpretation  from  first  to  last.  .  .  .  These  elements,  to- 
gether with  the  author's  full-orbed  vision  of  the  truth,  with  his  discrimina- 
tive judgment  and  his  felicity  of  expression,  make  this  the  peer  of  any  com- 
mentary on  these  important  letters." — The  Standard. 

"  An  exceedingly  careful  and  painstaking  piece  of  work.  The  introduc- 
tory discussions  of  questions  bearing  on  the  authenticity  and  integrity  (of 
the  epistles)  are  clear  and  candid,  and  the  exposition  of  the  text  displays  a 
fine  scholarship  and  insight." — Northwestern  Christian  Advocate. 

"The  book  is  from  first  to  last  exegetical  and  critical.  Every  phrase  in 
the  two  Epistles  is  searched  as  with  lighted  candles.  The  authorities  for 
variant  readings  are  canvassed  but  weighed,  rather  than  counted.  The  mul- 
tiform ancient  and  modern  interpretations  are  investigated  with  the  ex- 
haustiveness  of  a  German  lecture-room,  and  the  judicial  spirit  of  an  English 
court-room.  Special  discussions  are  numerous  and  thorough." — The  Con- 
gre^ationalist. 


"/  have  already  expressed  my  conviction  that  the  Inter- 
national C-ritical  CoTttmentary  is  the  best  critical  comtnentary. 
on  the  whole  Bible,  in  existence." — Dr.  Lvman  Abbott, 

Philippians  and  Philemon 

BV 

REV.  MARVIN  R.  VINCENT,  D.D. 

Pvofessor  of  Biblical  Literature  in   Union   Theological  Seminary,  New   York. 


Crown  8vo,  Net  $2.00. 


"It  IS,  in  short,  in  every  way  worthy  of  the  series." — The  Scotsman. 

"  Professor  Vincent's  Commentary  on  Philippians  and  Philemon  appears 
to  me  not  less  admirable  for  its  literary  merit  than  for  its  scholarship  and  its 
clear  and  discriminating  discussions  of  the  contents  of  these  Epistles." — Dr. 
George  P.  Fisher. 

"The  book  contains  many  examples  of  independent  and  judicial  weigh- 
ing of  evidence.  We  have  been  delighted  with  the  portion  devoted  to  Phile- 
mon. Unlike  most  commentaries,  this  may  wisely  be  read  as  a  whole. "^ 
The  Congregationalist 

"Of  the  merits  of  the  work  it  is  enough  to  say  that  it  is  worthy  of  its 
place  in  the  noble  undertaking  to  which  it  belongs.  It  is  fuL'  of  just  such 
information  as  the  Bible  student,  lay  or  clerical,  needs ;  and  while  giving  an 
abundance  of  the  truths  of  erudition  to  aid  the  critical  student  of  the  text,  it 
abounds  also  in  that  more  popular  information  which  enables  the  attentive 
reader  almost  to  put  himself  in  St.  Paul's  place,  to  see  with  the  eyes  and  feel 
with  the  heart  of  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles." — Boston  Advertiser. 

"  If  it  is  possible  in  these  days  to  produce  a  commentary  which  will  be 
free  from  polemical  and  ecclesiastical  bias,  the  feat  will  be  accomplished  in 
the  International  Critical  Commentary.  .  .  .  It  is  evident  that  the  writer 
has  given  an  immense  amount  of  scholarly  research  and  original  thought  to 
the  subject.  .  .  .  The  author's  introduction  to  the  Epistle  to  Philemon 
is  an  admirable  piece  of  literature,  calculated  to  arouse  in  the  student's  mind 
an  intense  interest  in  the  circumstances  which  produced  this  short  letter  from 
the  inspired  Apostle." — Commercial  Advertiser. 

"  His  discussion  of  Philemon  is  marked  by  sympathy  and  appreciation, 
and  his  full  discussion  of  the  relations  of  Pauline  Christianity  to  slavery  are 
interesting,  both  historically  and  sociologically." — The  Dial. 

"  Throughout  the  work  scholarly  research  is  evident.  It  commends  itself 
by  its  clear  elucidation,  its  keen  exegesis  which  marks  the  word  study  on 
every  page,  its  compactness  of  statement  and  its  simplicity  of  arrangement." 
— Ltitherafi  World. 

"  The  scholarship  of  the  author  seems  to  be  fully  equal  to  his  i '  dertaking, 
and  he  has  given  to  us  a  fine  piece  of  work.  One  cannot  but  se  that  if  the 
entire  series  shall  be  executed  upon  a  par  with  this  portion,  thei  «an  be  lit- 
tle left  to  be  desired."— Philadel/>hia  Presbyterian  Journal. 


Z^t  Jnterndtionaf  Ctiticaf  Cotnmenfdt^. 

"Richly  helpful  to  sclwlars  and  tninisiers." — The  Presbyterian  Banner. 

The  Books  of  5amuel 

BY 

REV.  HENRY  PRESERVED  SMITH,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Biblical  History  and  Interpretation  in  A  mherst  College. 


Crown  8vo,  Net  $3.00. 

•'Professor  Smith's  Commentary  will  for  some  time  be  the  standard 
work  on  Samuel,  and  we  heartily  congratulate  him  on  scholarly  work  s* 
faithfully  accomplished." — The  Athenccinn. 

"It  is  both  critical  and  exegetical,  and  deals  with  original  Hebrew  and 
Greek.  It  shows  painstaking  diligence  and  considerable  research." — The 
Presbyterian. 

"The  style  is  clear  and  forcible  and  sustains  the  well-won  reputation  of 
the  distinguished  author  for  scholarship  and  candor.  All  thoughtful  stu- 
dents of  the  Scriptures  will  find  the  work  helpful,  not  only  on  account  of  its 
specific  treatment  of  the  Books  of  Samuel,  on  which  it  is  based,  but  because 
of  the  light  it  throws  on  and  the  aid  it  gives  in  the  general  interpretation  of 
the  Scriptures  as  modified  by  present-day  criticism." — The  Philadelphia 
Press. 

"The  literary  quality  of  the  book  deserves  mention.  We  do  not  usually 
go  to  commentaries  for  models  of  English  style.  But  this  book  has  a  dis- 
tinct, though  unobtrusive,  literary  flavor.  It  is  delightful  reading.  The 
translation  is  always  felicitous,  and  often  renders  further  comment  need- 
less."—  The  Evangelist. 

"The  treatment  is  critical,  and  at  the  same  time  expository.  Conserva- 
tive students  may  find  much  in  this  volume  with  which  they  cannot  agree, 
but  no  one  wishing  to  know  the  most  recent  conclusions  concerning  this 
part  of  sacred  histbry  can  afford  to  be  without  it." — Philadelphia  Presby- 
terian Journal. 

"The  author  exhibits  precisely  that  scholarly  attitude  which  will  com- 
mend his  work  to  the  widest  audience." — The  Churcht77an. 

"The  commentary  is  the  most  complete  and  minute  hitherto  published 
by  an  English-speaking  scholar." — Literature. 

"The  volumes  of  Driver  and  Moore  set  a  high  standard  for  the  Old 
Testament  writers ;  but  I  think  Professor  Smith's  work  has  reached  the 
same  high  level.  It  is  scholarly  and  critical,  and  yet  it  is  written  in  a  spirit 
of  reverent  devotion,  a  worthy  treatment  of  the  sacred  text." — ProF.  L.  W. 
Batten,  of  P.  E.  Divinity  School,  Philadelphia. 


t^t  3nternationaf  Criticaf  Commenfarg. 

'A  decided  adva7ice  on  all  other  commentaries." — The  Outlook. 


PROVERBS 


By  the  Rev.  CRAWFORD   H.  TOY,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  Hebrew  in  Harvard  University. 


Crown  8vo.    Net,  $3.00. 


"In  careful  scholarship  this  volume  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  Its  in- 
terpretation is  free  from  theological  prejudice.  It  will  be  indispensable  to 
the  careful  student,  whether  lay  or  clerical." — The  Outlook. 

"Professor  Toy's  'Commentary'  will  for  many  years  to  come  remain  a 
handbook  for  both  teachers  and  learners,  and  its  details  will  be  studied  with 
critical  care  and  general  appreciation." — The  At/wiicEitm. 

"The  commentary  itself  is  a  most  thorough  treatment  of  each  verse  in 
detail,  in  which  the  light  of  the  fullest  scholarship  is  thrown  upon  the  mean- 
ing. The  learning  displayed  throughout  the  work  is  enormous.  Here  is  a 
commentary  at  last  that  does  not  skip  the  hard  places,  but  grapples  with 
every  problem  and  point,  and  says  the  best  that  can  be  said." — Presbyterian 
Banner, 

"  Professor  Toy's  commentary  on  Proverbs  maintains  the  highest  standard 
of  the  International  Critical  Commentaries.  We  can  give  no  higher  praise. 
Proverbs  presents  comparatively  few  problems  in  criticism,  but  offers  large 
opportunities  to  the  expositor  and  exegete.  Professor  Toy's  work  is 
thorough  and  complete." — T/ie  Congregationalist. 

"This  addition  to  'The  International  Critical  Commentary'  has  the  same 
characteristics  of  thoroughness  and  painstaking  scholarship  as  the  preceding 
issues  of  the  series.  In  the  critical  treatment  of  the  text,  in  noting  the 
various  readings  and  the  force  of  the  words  in  the  original  Hebrew,  it  leaves 
nothing  to  be  desired." — The  Christian  Intelligencer. 

"A  first-class,  up-to-date,  critical  and  exegetical  commentary  on  the  Book 
of  Proverbs  in  the  English  language  was  one  of  the  crying  needs  of  Biblical 
scholarship.  Accordingly,  we  may  not  be  yielding  to  the  latest  addition  to 
the  International  Critical  Series  the  tribute  it  deserves,  when  we  say  that  it 
at  once  takes  the  first  place  in  its  class.  That  place  it  undoubtedly  deserves, 
however,  and  would  have  secured  even  against  much  more  formidable  com- 
petitors than  it  happens  to  have.  It  is  altogether  a  well-arranged,  lucid 
exposition  of  this  unique  book  in  the  Bible,  based  on  a  careful  study  of  the 
text  and  the  linguistic  and  historical  background  of  every  part  of  it." — The 
Interior. 

"While  this  commentary  is  called  'critical'  and  is  such,  it  is  not  one  in 
which  the  apparatus  is  spread  out  in  detail ;  it  is  one  which  any  intelli- 
gent English  reader  can  readily  use  and  thoroughly  understand  " — The 

Evanc^elist. 


C^e  3ttterndtiott<:if  Criticaf  Commentary. 

"  The  best  commentary   and  the   one   most   useful  to   the  Bible 
student  is   The  International  Critical." 

— The  Reformed  Church  Review. 


ST.  PETER  AND  ST.  JUDE 

By  the  Rev.  CHARLES   BIGQ,  D.D. 

Regius  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in  the  University  of  Oxford. 


Crown  8vo.     Net,  $2.50. 

"  His  commentary  is  very  satisfactory  indeed.  His  notes  are  particularly 
valuable.  We  know  of  no  work  on  these  Epistles  which  is  so  full  and  satis- 
factory."—  The  Living  Church. 

"  It  shows  an  immense  amount  of  research  and  acquaintanceship  with  the 
views  of  the  critical  school." — Herald  a^td  Presbyter. 

"This  volume  well  sustains  the  reputation  achieved  by  its  predecessors. 
The  notes  to  the  text,  as  well  as  the  introductions,  are  marked  by  erudition 
at  once  affluent  and  discriminating." — The  Outlook. 

"Canon  Bigg's  work  is  pre-eminently  characterized  by  judicial  open- 
mindedness  and  sympathetic  insight  into  historical  conditions.  His  realistic 
interpretation  of  the  relations  of  the  apostles  and  the  circumstances  of  the 
early  church  renders  the  volume  invaluable  to  students  of  these  themes. 
The  exegetical  work  in  the  volume  rests  on  the  broad  basis  of  careful  lin- 
guistic study,  acquaintance  with  apocalyptic  literature  and  the  writings  of 
the  Fathers,  a  sane  judgment,  and  good  sense." — Aiiierican  Journal  of 
Theology. 

"  It  must  be  emphasized  that  the  commentary  is  a  distinct  contribution  to 
scholarship,  that  it  deserves  a  place  alongside  of  its  New  Testament  prede- 
cessors in  the  series,  and  that  it  is  the  best  commentary  on  these  epistles  in 
English." — The  Biblical  World. 

"The  careful  and  thorough  student  will  find  here  a  vast  amount  of  infor- 
mation most  helpful  to  him  in  his  studies  and  researches.  The  International 
Critical  Commentary,  to  which  it  belongs,  will  prove  a  great  boon  to  stu- 
dents and  ministers." — The  Canadian  Congregationalist. 

"  As  a  study  of  the  Greek  text,  his  commentary  stands  in  the  front  rank 
of  the  series  to  which  it  belongs.  But  the  most  characteristic  part  of  the 
book  is  the  preface  and  the  introductory  matter,  in  which  Dr.  Bigg's  genius 
as  a  historian  finds  ample  scope  " — Literature. 

"We  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  it  is,  after  all,  in  our  judgment,  the  most 
useful  commentary  on  the  difficult  portions  of  Scripture  with  which  it  deals, 
of  which  we  have  any  knowledge." — Reformed  Church  Review. 


XTbe  Unternational 


XTbeoIoQical  Xibrar^* 


EDITORS'   PREFACE. 

Theology  has  made  great  and  rapid  advances  in  recent 
years.  New  lines  of  investigation  have  been  opened  up, 
fresh  h'ght  has  been  cast  upon  many  subjects  of  the  deepest 
interest,  and  the  historical  method  has  been  applied  with 
important  results.  This  has  prepared  the  way  for  a  Library 
of  Theological  Science,  and  has  created  the  demand  for  it. 
It  has  also  made  it  at  once  opportune  and  practicable  now 
to  secure  the  services  of  specialists  in  the  different  depart- 
ments of  Theology,  and  to  associate  them  in  an  enterprise 
which  will  furnish  a  record  of  Theological  inquiry  up  to 
date. 

This  Library  is  designed  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  Chris- 
tian Theology.  Each  volume  is  to  be  complete  in  itself, 
while,  at  the  same  time,  it  will  form  part  of  a  carefully 
planned  whole.  One  of  the  Editors  is  to  prepare  a  volume 
of  Theological  Encyclopaedia  which  will  give  the  history 
and  literature  of  each  department,  as  well  as  of  Theology 
as  a  whole. 

The  Library  is  intended  to  form  a  series  of  Text-Books 
for  Students  of  Theology. 

The  Authors,  therefore,  aim  at  conciseness  and  compact- 
ness of  statement.     At  the  same  time,  they  have  in  view 


editors'  preface. 

that  large  and  increasing  class  of  students,  in  other  depart- 
ments of  inquiry,  who  desire  to  have  a  systematic  and  thor- 
ough exposition  of  Theological  Science.  Technical  matters 
will  therefore  be  thrown  into  the  form  of  notes,  and  the 
text  will  be  made  as  readable  and  attractive  as  possible. 

The  Library  is  international  and  interconfessional.  It 
will  be  conducted  in  a  catholic  spirit,  and  in  the  interests 
of  Theology  as  a  science. 

Its  aim  will  be  to  give  full  and  impartial  statements  both 
of  the  results  of  Theological  Science  and  of  the  questions 
which  are  still  at  issue  in  the  different  departments. 

The  Authors  will  be  scholars  of  recognized  reputation  in 
the  several  branches  of  study  assigned  to  them.  They  will 
be  associated  with  each  other  and  with  the  Editors  in  the 
effort  to  provide  a  series  of  volumes  which  may  adequately 
represent  the  present  condition  of  investigation,  and  indi- 
cate the  way  for  further  progress. 

CHARLES  A.   BRIGGS. 
STEWART   D.    F.    SALMOND. 


Theological  Encyclopaedia.  By  Charles  A.  Briggs,  D.D.,  D.Litt., 

Professor  of  Biblical  Theology, 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  New 
York. 

An  Introduction  to  the  Litera-  By  S.  R.  Driver,  D.D.,  D.Litt., 
ture  of  the  Old  Testament.  Regius  Professor   of  Hebrew,    and 

Canon  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford. 
{Revised  and  enlarged  edition.) 

The  Study  of  the  Old  Testa-  By  the  Right  Rev.  Herbert  Edward 
ment.  Ryle,  D.D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  Win- 

chester. 

Old  Testament  History.  By  Henry  Preserved  Smith,  D.D., 

Professor  of  Biblical' History,  Am- 
herst College,  Mass.  [/«  Press. 

Contemporary  History  of  the  By  Francis  Brown,  D.  D.,  LL.D., 
Old  Testament.  D.Litt.,  Professorof  Hebrew,  Union 

Theological  Seminary,  New  York. 

Theology  of  the  Old  Testa-  By  the  late  A.  B.  Davidson,  D.D., 
ment.  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Hebrew,  New 

College,  Edinburgh.  [/«  Press. 


tX}t  3nfernattondf  Jgeofo^icaf  &i6rarg. 


An  Introduction  to  the  Litera- 
ture of  the  New  Testament. 

Canon   and   Text   of  the    New 
Testament. 


The  Life  of  Christ. 


A    History   of    Christianity    in 
the  Apostolic  Age. 


Contemporary    History   of    the 
New  Testament. 

Theology  of  the    New   Testa- 
ment. 


The  Ancient  Catholic  Church. 
The  Later  Catholic  Church. 
The  Latin  Church. 
History  of  Christian  Doctrine. 

Christian  Institutions. 

Philosophy  of  Religion. 
Apologetics. 

The  Doctrine  of  God. 
The  Doctrine  of  Salvation. 
Christian  Ethics. 


The  Christian  Pastor  and  the 
Working  Church. 

Rabbinical  Literature. 


By  S.  D.  F.  Salmond,  D.D.,  Prin- 
cipal of  the  Free  Church  College, 
Aberdeen. 

By  Caspar  Rene  Gregory,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  Professor  of  New  Testa- 
ment Exegesis  in  the  University  of 
Leipzig. 

By  William  Sanday,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Lady  Margaret  Professor  of  Di- 
vinity, and  Canon  of  Christ  Church, 
Oxford. 

By  Arthur  C.  McGiffert,  D.D., 
Professor  of  Church  History, 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  New 
York.     {Now  ready.) 

By  Frank  C.  Porter,  Ph.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Biblical  Theology,  Yale 
University,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

By  George  B.  Stevens,  D.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Systematic  Theology, 
Yale  University,  New  Haven, 
Conn.     {Now  ready.) 

By  Robert  Rainy,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Principal  of  the  New  College, 
Edinburgh.     {Now  ready.) 

By  Robert  Rainy,  D.D.,  LL.D., 
Principal  of  the  New  College, 
Edinburgh. 

By  the  Right  Rev.  Archibald  Rob- 
ertson, D.D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  Exe- 
ter. 

By  G.  P.  Fisher,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Ecclesiastical  History, 
Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
{Revised  and  enlarged  edition.) 

By  A.  V.  G.  Allen,  D.D.,  Profes- 
sor of  Ecclesiastical  History,  P. 
E.  Divinity  School,  Cambridge', 
Mass.     {Notv  ready.) 

By  Robert  Flint,  D.D.,  LL.D.. 
Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  Uni 
versity  of  Edinburgh. 

By  the  late  A.  B.  Bruce,  D.D.,  some- 
time Professor  of  New  Testament 
Exegesis,  Free  Church  College, 
Glasgow.  {Revised  and  enlarged 
edition . ) 

By  William  N.  Clarke,  D.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Systematic  Theology, 
Hamilton  Theological  Seminary. 

By  George  13.  Stevens,  D.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Systematic  Theology,  Yale 
University. 

By  Newman  Smyth,  D.D.,  Pastor  of 
Congregational  Church,  New  Ha- 
ven .   {Revised  and  enlarged  edition . ) 

By  Washington  Gladden,  D.D., 
Pastor  of  Congregational  Church, 
Columbus,  Ohio.     {A\ni>  ready.) 

By  S.  ScHECHTER,  M.A.,  President 
of  the  Jewish  Theological  Seminary, 
New  York  City. 


ZU  Jnternationaf  S^eofo^icaf  &i6rdrg. 

AN  INTRODUCTION  TO 

The  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament 

By  Prof.  S.  R.  DRIVER,  D.D.,  D.Litt. 

Canon  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford 

New  Edition  Revised 


Crown  8vo,  558  pages,  $2.50  net 


"It  is  the  most  scholarly  and  critical  work  in  the  English  lan- 
guage on  the  literature  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  fully  up  to  the 
present  state  of  research  in  Germany." — Prof.  Philip  Schaff,  D.D. 

"  Canon  Driver  has  arranged  his  material  excellently,  is  succinct 
without  being  hurried  or  unclear,  and  treats  the  various  critical  prob- 
lems involved  with  admirable  fairness  and  good  judgment." 

—Prof.  C.  H.  Toy. 

"His  judgment  is  singularly  fair,  calm,  unbiassed,  and  inde- 
pendent. It  is  also  thoroughly  reverential.  .  .  .  The  service, 
which  his  book  will  render  in  the  present  confusion  of  mind  on  this 
great  subject,  can  scarcely  be  overestimated." — The  London  Times. 

"As  a  whole,  there  is  probably  no  book  in  the  English  language 
equal  to  this  '  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament' 
for  the  student  who  desires  to  understand  what  the  modern  criticism 
thinks  about  the  Bible." — Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  in  the  Outlook. 

"The  book  is  one  worthy  of  its  subject,  thorough  in  its  treat- 
ment, reverent  in  its  tone,  sympathetic  in  its  estimate,  frank  in  its 
recognition  of  difficulties,  conservative  (in  the  best  sense  of  the 
word)  in  its  statement  of  results." 

— Prof.  Henry  P.  Smith,  in  the  Magazine  of  Christian  Literature. 

' '  In  working  out  his  method  our  author  takes  up  each  book  in 
order  and  goes  through  it  with  marvelous  and  microscopic  care. 
Every  verse,  every  clause,  word  by  word,  is  sifted  and  weighed,  and 
its  place  in  the  literary  organism  decided  upon." 

—  The  Presbyterian  Quarterly. 

"  It  contains  just  that  presentation  of  the  results  of  Old  Testa- 
ment criticism  for  which  English  readers  in  this  department  have 
been  waiting.  .  .  .  The  whole  book  is  excellent;  it  will  be  found 
helpful,  characterized  as  it  is  all  through  by  that  scholarly  poise  of 
mind,  which,  when  it  does  not  know,  is  not  ashamed  to  present  de- 
grees of  probability." — New   World. 

"...  Canon  Driver's  book  is  characterized  throughout  by 
thorough  Christian  scholarship,  faithful  research,  caution  in  the 
expression  of  mere  opinions,  candor  in  the  statement  of  facts  and  of 
the  necessary  inferences  from  them,  and  the  devout  recognition  of 
the  divine  inworking  in  the  religious  life  of  the  Hebrews,  and  of  the 
tokens  of  divine  inspiration  in  the  literature  which  records  and  em- 
bodies it." — Dr.  A.  P.  Peabody,  in  the  Cambridge  Tribune. 


CHRISTIAN  INSTITUTIONS. 


By  ALEXANDER  V.  G.  ALLEN,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Eccle  jiastical  History  in  the  Episcopal  Theological  School 
in  Cambridge. 


Crown  8vo,  577  pages,  $2.50  net. 


'*  Professor  Allen's  Christian  Institutions  may  be  regarded  as  the  most 
important  permanent  contribution  which  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
of  the  United  States  has  yet  made  to  general  theological  thought.  In  a  few 
particulars  it  will  not  command  the  universal,  or  even  the  general  assent  of 
discriminating  readers  ;  but  it  will  receive,  as  it  deserves,  the  respect  and 
appreciation  of  those  who  rightly  estimate  the  varied,  learned,  and  independ- 
ent spirit  of  the  author." — Tke  American  Journal  of  Theology. 

"  As  to  his  method  there  can  be  no  two  opinions,  nor  as  to  the  broad, 
critical,  and  appreciative  character  of  his  study.  It  is  an  immensely  sug- 
gestive, stimulating,  and  encouraging  piece  of  work.  It  shows  that  modern 
scholarship  is  not  all  at  sea  as  to  results,  and  it  presents  a  worthy  view  of  a 
great  and  noble  subject,  the  greatest  and  noblest  of  all  subjects." — T/ie  In- 
dependent. 

"This  will  at  once  take  its  place  among  the  most  valuable  volumes  in  the 
•  International   Theological  Library,'  constituting  in  itself  a  very  complete 
epitome   both   of  general   church   history  and  of  the  history  of  doctrines. 
A  single  quotation  well   illustrates   the  brilliant  style  and  the  pro- 
found thought  of  the  book." — The  Bibliotheca  Sacra. 

"  The  wealth  of  learning,  the  historical  spirit,  the  philosophic  grasp,  the 
loyalty  to  the  continuity  of  life,  which  everywhere  characterize  this  thorough 
study  of  the  organization,  creeds,  and  cultus  constituting  Christian  Institu- 
tion. .  .  •  However  the  reader  may  differ  with  the  conclusions  of  the 
author,  few  will  question  his  painstaking  scholarship,  judicial  temperament, 
and  catholicity  of  Christian  spirit." — The  Advance. 

"  It  is  an  honor  to  American  scholarship,  and  will  be  read  by  all  who 
wish  to  be  abreast  of  the  age." — The  Lutheran  Church  Revieio, 

"  With  all  its  defects  and  limitations,  this  is  a  most  illuminating  and  sug- 
gestive book  on  a  subject  of  abiding  interest." — 77ie  Christian  Intelli- 
gencer." 

"It  is  a  treasury  of  expert  knowledge,  arranged  in  an  orderly  and  lucid 
manner,  and  more  than  ordinarily  readable.  .  .  .  It  is  controlled  by  the 
candid  and  critical  spirit  of  the  careful  historian  who,  of  course,  has  his 
convictions  and  preferences,  but  who  makes  no  claims  in  their  behalf  which 
the  facts  do  not  seem  to  warrant." — The  Congregationalist. 

"  He  writes  in  a  charming  style,  and  has  collected  a  vast  amount  of  im- 
portant material  pertaining  to  his  subject  which  can  be  found  in  :»o  other 
work  in  so  compact  a  form." — The  A^ew  Vcrh  Observer, 


Apologetics ; 

Or,  Christianity  Defensively  Stated. 

By  the  late  ALEXANDER  BALMAIN  BRUCE,  D.D., 

■^rofessor  of  Apologetics  and  New  Testament  Exegesis,  Free  Church  College, 
Glasgow  ;  Author  of  "  The  Training  of  the  Twelve,"  "The  Humilia- 
tion of  Christ,"  "  The  Kingdom  of  God,"  etc. 


Crown  8vo,  528  pages,  $2.50  net. 


Professor  Bnice's  work  is  not  an  abstract  treatise  on  apologetics, 
but  an  apologetic  presentation  of  the  Christian  faith,  with  reference 
to  whatever  in  our  intellectual  environment  makes  faith  difficult  at 
the  present  time. 

It  addresses  itself  to  men  whose  sympathies  are  with  Christianity, 
and  discusses  the  topics  of  pressing  concern — the  burning  questions 
of  the  hour.  It  is  offered  as  an  aid  to  faith  rather  than  a  buttress  of 
received  belief  and  an  armory  of  weapons  for  the  orthodox  believer. 

' '  The  book  throughout  exhibits  the  methods  and  the  results  of 
conscientious,  independent,  expert  and  devout  Biblical  scholarship, 
and  it  is  of  permanent  value." — The  Congregatioualisi. 

' '  The  practical  value  of  this  book  entitles  it  to  a  place  in  the 

first  rank." — The  Independent. 

"  A  patient  and  scholarly  presentation  of  Christianity  under 
aspects  best  fitted  to  commend  it  to  'ingenuous  and  truth-loving 
minds.'  " — The  Nation. 

"The  book  is  well-nigh  indispensable  to  those  who  propose  to 
keep  abreast  of  the  times." — Western  Christian  Advocate. 

"Professor  Bruce  does  not  consciously  evade  any  difficulty, 
and  he  constantly  aims  to  be  completely  fair-minded.  For  this 
reason  he  wins  from  the  start  the  strong  confidence  of  the  reader." — 
Advance. 

"  Its  admirable  spirit,  no  less  than  the  strength  of  its  arguments, 
will  go  far  to  remove  many  of  the  prejudices  or  doubts  of  those  who 
are  outside  of  Christianity,  but  who  are,  nevertheless,  not  infidels." — 
N^ew  York  Tribune. 

"  In  a  word,  he  tells  precisely  what  all  intelligent  persons  wish  to 
know,  and  tells  it  in  a  clear,  fresh  and  convincing  manner.  Scarcely 
anyone  has  so  successfully  rendered  the  service  of  showing  what 
the  result  of  the  higher  criticism  is  for  the  proper  understanding  of 
the  history  and  religion  of  Israel." — A7tdover  Review. 

"  We  have  not  for  a  long  time  taken  a  book  in  hand  that  is  more 
stimulating  to  faith.  .  .  .  Without  commenting  further,  we  repeat 
that  this  volume  is  the  ablest,  most  scholarly,  most  advanced,  and 
sharpest  defence  of  Christianity  that  has  ever  been  written.  No 
theological  library  should  be  without  it." — Zions  Herald. 


26e  Jnferndttonaf  S^eofo^tcaf  £t6rarj^. 

A   HISTORY  OF 

,  CHRISTIANITY  IN  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE 

BY 

ARTHUR  CUSHMAN   McQIFFERT,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

Washburn  Professor  of  Church  History  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  I'^ert, 


Crown  8vo,  681  Pages,  $2.50  Net. 


*'  The  author's  work  is  ably  done.  .  .  .  This  volume  is  worthy  of 
its  place  in  the  series." — T/te  Congregaiionalist. 

"  Invaluable  as  a  resume  of  the  latest  critical  work  upon  the  great  forma- 
tive period  of  the  Christian  Church." — The  Christian  World  (London). 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  is  a  remarkable  work,  both  on  account 
of  the  thoroughness  of  its  c/i''cism  and  the  boldness  of  its  views." 

—  The  Scoisvian. 

"  The  ability  and  learning  of  Proi'sssor  McGiflfert's  work  on  the  Apos- 
tolic Age,  and,  whatever  dissent  there  may  be  from  its  critical  opinion,  its 
manifest  sincerity,  candid  scholars  will  not  fail  to  appreciate." 

— Dr.  George  P.  Fisher,  of  Yale  University. 

"  Pre-eminently  a  clergyman's  book ;  but  there  are  many  reasons  why  it 
should  be  in  the  library  of  every  thoughtful  Christian  person.  The  style 
is  vivid  and  at  times  picturesque.  The  results  rather  than  the  processes  of 
learning  are  exhibited.  It  is  full  of  local  color,  of  striking  narrative,  and  of 
keen,  often  brilliant,  character  analysis.  It  is  an  admirable  book  for  the 
Sunday-school  teacher." — Boston  Advertiser. 

"  For  a  work  of  such  wide  learning  and  critical  accuracy,  and  which  deals 
with  so  many  difficult  and  abstruse  problems  of  Christian  history,  this  is  re- 
markably readable." — The  Independent. 

"It  is  certain  that  Professor  McGiffert's  work  has  set  the  mark  for 
future  effort  in  the  obscure  fields  of  research  into  Christian  origin." 

— New  York  Tribune. 

"  Dr.  McGifTert  has  produced  an  able,  scholarly,  suggestive,  and  con- 
Structive  work.  He  is  in  thorough  and  easy  possession  of  his  sources  and 
materials,  so  that  his  positive  construction  is  seldom  interrupted  by  citations, 
the  demolition  of  opposing  views,  or  the  irrelevant  discussion  of  subordinate 
questions." — 7^he  Methodist  Review. 

"The  clearness,  self-consistency,  and  force  of  the  whole  impression  of 
Apostolic  Christianity  with  which  we  leave  this  book,  goes  far  to  guarantee 
its  permanent  value  and  success." — The  Expositor . 


History  of  Christian  Doctrinec 

BY 

GEORGE  P.  FISHER,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Titus  Street  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in  Yale  University. 

Crown  8vo,  583  pages,  $2.50  net« 


"  He  gives  ample  proof  of  rare  scholarship.  Many  of  the  old  doc- 
trines are  restated  with  a  freshness,  lucidity  and  elegance  of  style 
which  make  it  a  very  readable  book." — The  New  York  Observer. 

"Intrinsically  this  volume  is  worthy  of  a  foremost  place  m  our 
modern  literature  .  .  .  We  have  no  work  on  the  subject  in  English 
equal  to  it,  for  variety  and  range,  clearness  of  statement,  judicious 
guidance,  and  catholicity  of  tone." — Londofi  Nonconformist  and  Inde- 
pendents 

"  It  is  only  just  to  say  that  Dr.  Fisher  has  produced  the  best  His- 
tory of  Doctrine  that  we  have  in  English." — The  New  Yotk  Evangelist. 

"  It  is  to  me  quite  a  marvel  how  a  book  of  this  kind  (Fisher's 
•History  of  Christian  Doctrine')  can  be  written  so  accurately  to 
scale.  It  could  only  be  done  by  one  who  had  a  very  complete  com- 
mand of  all  the  periods." — Prof.  William  Sanday,  Oxford. 

"It  presents  so  many  new  and  fresh  points  and  is  so  thoroughly 
treated,  and  brings  into  view  contemporaneous  thought,  especially 
the  American,  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to  read  it,  and  will  be  an  equal 
pleasure  to  go  back  to  it  again  and  again." — Bishop  John  F.  Hurst. 

"  Throughout  there  is  manifest  wide  reading,  careful  prepara- 
tion, spirit  and  good  judgment," — Philadelphia  Presbyterian. 

"  The  language  and  style  are  alike  delightfully  fresh  and  easy 
.  .  .  A  book  which  will  be  found  both  stimulating  and  instructive 
to  the  student  of  theology." — The  Churchman. 

"Professor  Fisher  has  trained  the  public  to  expect  the  excellen 
cies  of  scholarship,  candor,  judicial  equipoise  and  admirable  lucidity 
and  elegance  of  style  in  whatever  comes  from  his  pen.     But  in  the 
present  work  he  has  surpassed  himself." — Prof.  J.  H.  Thayer,  c/ 
Harvard  Divinity  School. 

"  It  meets  the  severest  standard;  there  is  fullness  of  knowledge, 
thorough  research,  keenly  analytic  thought,  and  rarest  enrichment 
for  a  positive,  profound  and  learned  critic.  There  is  interpretative 
and  revealing  sympathy.  It  is  of  the  class  of  works  that  mark  epochs 
in  their  several  departments." — The  Outlook. 

"  As  a  first  study  of  the  History  of  Doctrine,  Professor  Fisher's 
volume  has  the  merit  of  being  full,  accurate  and  interesting." 

— Prof.  Marcus  Dods 

" .  .  .  He  gathers  up,  reorganizes  and  presents  the  results  of 
tovestigation  in  a  style  rarely  full  of  literary  charm." 

—  The  Interiov^ 


THEOLOGY  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

By  GEORGE  B.  STEVENS,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Systematic  Theology,  Yale  University, 


Crown  8vo,  480  pages,  $2.50  net. 


"In  style  it  is  rarely  clear,  simple,  and  strong,  adaptea  alike  to  the  gen- 
eral reader  and  the  theological  student.  The  former  class  will  find  it  read- 
able and  interesting  to  an  unusual  degree,  while  the  student  will  value  its 
thorough  scholarship  and  completeness  of  treatment.  His  work  has  a  sim- 
plicity, beauty,  and  freshness  that  add  greatly  to  its  scholarly  excellence  and 
worth. " — Chj'isiian  Advocate. 

"  Professor  Stevens  is  a  profound  student  and  interpreter  of  the  Bible,  as 
far  as  possible  divested  of  any  prepossessions  concerning  its  message.  In 
his  study  of  it  his  object  has  been  not  to  find  texts  that  might  seem  to  bol- 
ster up  some  system  of  theological  speculation,  but  to  find  out  what  the 
writers  of  the  various  books  meant  to  say  and  teach." — iV.   V.   Tt-ibiine. 

"It  is  a  fine  example  of  painstaking,  discriminating,  impartial  research 
and  statement." — The  Congregationalisi. 

"  Professor  Stevens  has  given  us  a  very  good  book.  A  liberal  conser- 
vative, he  takes  cautious  and  moderate  positions  in  the  field  of  New  Testa- 
ment criticism,  yet  is  admirably  fair-minded.  His  method  is  patient  and 
thorough.  He  states  the  opinions  of  those  who  differ  from  him  with  care 
and  clearness.  The  proportion  of  quotation  and  reference  is  well  adjusted 
and  the  reader  is  kept  well  informed  concerning  the  course  of  opinion  with- 
out being  drawn  away  from  the  text  of  the  author's  own  thought.  His 
judgments  on  difificult  questions  are  always  put  with  self-restraint  and 
sobriety." — The  Churchman. 

"  It  will  certainly  take  its  place,  after  careful  reading,  as  a  valuable 
synopsis,  neither  bare  nor  over-elaborate,  to  which  recourse  will  be  had  by 
the  student  or  teacher  who  requires  within  moderate  compass  the  gist  of 
modern  research." — The  Literary  World. 


THE  ANCIENT  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

From  the  Accession  of  Trajan  to  the  Fourth 
General  Council  (A.D.  98=451) 

By  ROBERT  RAINY,  D.D. 

Principal  of  the  New  College,  Edinburgh. 


Crown  8vo.     554  Pages.     Net,  $2.50. 


"This  is  verily  and  indeed  a  book  to  thank  God  for;  and  if  anybody  has 
been  despairing  of  a  restoration  of  true  catholic  unity  in  God's  good  time,  it 
is  a  book  to  fill  him  with  hope  and  confidence." — The  Church  Standard. 

"  Principal  Rainy  has  written  a  fascinating  book.  He  has  the  gifts  of  an 
historian  and  an  expositor.  His  fresh  presentation  of  so  intricate  and  time- 
worn  a  subject  as  Gnosticism  grips  and  holds  the  attention  from  first  to  last. 
Familiarity  with  most  of  the  subjects  which  fall  to  be  treated  within  these 
limits  of  Christian  history  had  bred  a  fancy  that  v/e  might  safely  and  profit- 
ably skip  some  of  the  chapters,  but  we  found  ourselves  returning  to  close  up 
the  gaps ;  we  should  advise  those  who  are  led  to  read  the  book  through  this 
notice  not  to  repeat  our  experiment.  It  is  a  dish  of  well-cooked  and  well- 
seasoned  meat,  savory  and  rich,  wii.h  abundance  of  gravy ;  and,  while  no 
one  wishes  to  be  a  glutton,  he  will  miss  something  nutritious  if  he  does  not 
take  time  to  consume  it  all." — Methodist  Ecview. 

"It  covers  the  period  from  98-451  a.d.,  with  a  well-marked  order,  and 
is  written  in  a  downright  style,  simple  and  unpretentious.  Simplicity,  in- 
deed, and  perspicuity  are  the  keynotes,  and  too  great  burden  of  detail  is 
avoided.     A  very  fresh  and  able  book." — The  Nation. 

"The  International  Theological  Library  is  certainly  a  very  valuable  collec- 
tion of  books  on  the  science  of  Theology.  And  among  the  set  -'  good  books, 
Dr.  Rainy's  volume  on  The  Ancient  Catholic  Church  .6  entitled  to  a  high 
place.  We  know  of  no  one  volume  which  contains  .>o  much  matter  which 
is  necessary  to  a  student  of  theology." — The  Living  Church. 

"  Of  course,  a  history  so  condensed  is  not  to  be  read  satisfactorily  in  a  day 
cr  even  a  week.  The  reader  often  will  find  ample  food  for  thought  for  a 
day  or  more  in  what  he  may  have  read  in  two  hours.  But  the  man  who 
will  master  the  whole  book  will  be  amply  rewarded,  and  will  be  convinced 
that  he  has  been  consorting  with  a  company  of  the  world's  greatest  men, 
and  has  attained  an  accurate  knowledge  of  one  of  the  world's  greatest  and 
most  important  periods." — Christian  Intelligeiicer. 

"As  a  compend  of  church  history  for  the  first  five  centuries,  this  volume 
will  be  found  most  useful,  for  ready  reference,  both  to  those  who  possess 
the  more  elaborate  church  histories,  and  for  the  general  information  desired 
by  a  wider  reading  public  ;  while  the  temperate  presentations  of  the  author's 
own  theories  upon  disputed  points  are  in  themselves  of  great  value," — 
Bibhotheca  Sacra. 

"Principal  Rainy  of  the  New  College,  Edinburgh,  is  one  of  the  foremost 
scholars  of  Great  Britain,  and  in  Scotland,  his  home,  he  is  regarded  by  his 
countrymen  as  the  chief  figure  in  their  ecclesiastical  life.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  this  recent  volume  will  enhance  his  reputation  and  serve  to 
introduce  him  to  a  wider  circle  of  friends  '''  —Congrcgationahst,  Boston, 


Christian  Ethics, 

By  NEWMAN  SMYTH,  D.D.,  New  Haven. 


Crown  8vo,  508  pages,  $2.50  net. 


"  As  this  book  is  the  latest,  so  it  is  the  fullest  and  most  attractive 
treatment  of  the  subject  that  we  are  familiar  with.  Patient  and  ex- 
haustive in  its  method  of  inquiry,  and  stimulating  and  suggestive  in 
the  topic  it  handles,  we  are  confident  that  it  will  be  a  help  to  the 
task  of  the  moral  understanding  and  interpretation  of  human  life." 

—  TAe  Livijig  Church. 

"  This  book  of  Dr.  Newman  Smyth  is  of  extraordinary  interest  and 
value.  It  is  an  honor  to  American  scholarship  and  American  Chris- 
tian thinking.  It  is  a  work  which  has  been  wrought  out  with  re- 
markable grasp  of  conception,  and  power  of  just  analysis,  fullness  of 
information,  richness  of  thought,  and  affluence  of  apt  and  luminous 
illustration.  Its  style  is  singularly  clear,  simple,  facile,  and  strong. 
Too  much  gratiiication  can  hardly  be  expressed  at  the  way  the  author 
lifts  the  whole  subject  of  ethics  up  out  of  the  slough  of  mere  natural- 
ism into  its  own  place,  where  it  is  seen  to  be  illumined  by  the  Chris- 
tian revelation  and  vision." — The  Advance. 

"  The  subjects  treated  cover  the  whole  field  of  moral  and  spiritual  re- 
lations, theoretical  and  practical,  natural  and  revealed,  individual  and  social, 
civil  and  ecclesiastical.  To  enthrone  the  personal  Christ  as  the  true  content, 
of  the  ethical  ideal,  to  show  how  this  ideal  is  realized  in  Christian  conscious' 
ness  and  how  applied  in  the  varied  departments  of  practical  life — these  are 
the  main  objects  of  the  book  and  no  objects  could  be  loftier." 

—  The  Congregationalist. 

"  The  author  has  written  with  competent  knowledge,  with  great  spiritual 
insight,  and  in  a  tone  of  devoutness  and  reverence  worthy  of  his  theme." 

—  The  London  Independent. 

"It  is  methodical,  comprehensive,  and  readable;  few  subdivisions, 
direct  or  indi-ect,  are  omitted  in  the  treatment  of  the  broad  theme,  and 
though  it  aims  to  be  an  exhaustive  treatise,  and  not  a  popular  handbook,  it 
may  be  perused  at  random  with  a  good  deal  of  suggestiveness  and  profit." 

—  The  Sunday  School  Times 

"  It  reflects  great  credit  on  the  author,  presenting  an  exemph.ry  temper 
find  manner  throughout,  being  a  model  of  clearness  in  thought  and  term, 
and  containing  passages  of  exquisite  finish." — Hartford  Setnitiar^  KecorC. 

"  We  commend  this  book  to  all  reading,  intelligent  men,  ani<  espec}  U» 
to  ministers,  who  will  find  in  it  many  fresh  suggestions." 

— Pkoiessor  a.  E    Br.uc>. 


C?e  3ntctnatton<lf  ^^^eofogicdf  feiBrarg. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  PASTOR  AND  THE 
WORKING  CHURCH 

by  WASHINGTON  GLADDEN,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Author  of  "Applied  Christianity,"  "Who  Wrote  the  Bible?"  "Ruling 
Ideas  of  the  Present  Age,"  etc. 


Crown  8vo,  485  pages,  $2.5o  net. 


••  Dr.  Gladden  may  be  regarded  as  an  expert  and  an  authority  on  practi- 
cal theology.  .  .  .  Upon  the  whole  we  judge  that  it  will  be  of  great 
service  to  the  ministry  of  all  the  Protestant  churches." — The  Interior. 

"  Packed  with  wisdom  and  instruction  and  a  profound  piety.  .  .  . 
It  is  pithy,  pertinent,  and  judicious  from  cover  to  cover.  .  .  .  An  ex- 
ceedingly comprehensive,  sagacious,  and  suggestive  study  and  application 
oi  its  theme." — T/ie  Congregationalist. 

"  We  have  here,  for  the  pastor,  the  most  modern  practical  treatise  yet 
published — sagacious,  balanced,  devout,  inspiring." — The  Dial. 

"  His  long  experience,  his  eminent  success,  his  rare  literary  ability,  and 
his  diligence  as  a  student  combine  to  make  of  this  a  model  book  for  its  pur- 
pose. .  .  .  We  know  not  where  the  subjects  are  more  wisely  discussed 
than  here." — The  Bibliotheca  Sacra. 

"  This  book  should  be  the  vade  mecuni  of  every  working  pastor.  It 
abounds  in  wise  counsels  and  suggestions,  the  result  of  large  experience 
and  observation.  No  sphere  of  church  life  or  church  work  is  left  untreated." 
—  The  (Canadian)  Methodist  Magazine  atid  Review. 

"  A  happier  combination  of  author  and  subject,  it  will  be  acknowledged, 
can  hardly  be  found.  .  .  .  It  is  comprehensive,  practical,  deeply 
spiritual,  and  fertile  in  wise  and  suggestive  thought  upon  ways  and  means 
of  bringing  the  Gospel  to  bear  on  the  lives  of  men." — The  Christian  Ad- 
vocate. 

"  Dr.  Gladden  writes  with  pith  and  point,  but  with  wise  moderation,  a 
genial  tone  and  great  good  sense.  .  .  .  The  book  is  written  in  an  excel- 
lent, business-like  and  vital  English  style,  which  carries  the  author's  point 
and  purpose  and  has  an  attractive  vitality  of  its  own." — The  Independent. 

"  A  comprehensive,  inspiring,  and  helpful  guide  to  a  busy  pastor.  One 
f.nds  in  it  a  multitude  of  practical  suggestions  for  the  development  of  the 
spiritual  and  working  life  of  the  Church,  and  the  answer  to  many  problems 
that  are  a  constant  perplexity  to  the  faithful  minister." 

The  Christian  Intelligencer 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01055  5268 


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